Harry Potter and The Power of Fire
by IAreGandalf
Summary: AU: Post 2nd year. How will Slytherins Ice Queen react to this new Boy Who Lived? Harry comes upon a hidden will by his parents and finds out some well hidden secrets. He will now be in the custody of the Greengrass family. Some tension between Harry and Daphne is bound to happen. HP/DG pairing. Maybe some others, not sure. Weasel bashing. Dumbles route undecided.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** The Harry Potter Universe and all the characters belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Authors Notes: **Hi! This is my first fan fiction ever and I hope you will enjoy it. This is the first chapter and so far there is only one chapter but I will definitely write more! There is a little bit of Dumbledore bashing and maybe some Weasley bashing as well, later. I dont know yet. Daphne/Harry is definitely my favourite pairing and so I wanted to make a fanfiction about it as well. I have definitely drawn inspiration from fanfiction that I have read but I want you to know that most of the content comes straight from my head, even if it isn't original to my work. Have fun reading.

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**Harry Potter and The Power of Fire**

Chapter 1

It was midnight when Harry was startled in his sleep. It was the summer after his second year at Hogwarts where he had had to fight a basilisk to save the school from the evil power of a diary. A basilisk! He could barely believe it himself. How could a school that continuously calls itself safe harbor so many different dangers? It was a wonder no one had died so far, and Harry hadn't even started his third year yet. Still, Hogwarts was the best thing that ever happened to him. He could barely wait until he got back there again. The summer had been bad, worse than before. His whole body was still sore from the latest "lesson" his uncle had given him. A few days earlier he had missed some weed while cleaning up the garden and his uncle had pushed him down the stairs so that he wouldn't repeat it. Harry was mostly happy that he had avoided suffering any permanent injury. Although that wasn't even the worst part._ Aunt Marge_ had visited during the summer, being the pain in the ass that she was, Harry had to endure her crap more than ever about himself and his family. Luckily, he managed to not blow anything up during her stay and things returned to normal. Well, as normal as things got at the Dursleys. While lying back down onto his bed he thought about Ron and Hermione. Ron wasn't exactly the most open minded person. He would have to do something about that once they met next time. Only two nights left, and then Harry would be on his way back to Hogwarts again.

He softly drifted off to sleep again when once more something startled him. _What could it be?_ He slowly got up and peeked out the window onto his front porch. There uncle Vernon was talking to someone. Or rather screaming at someone and waving his arms wildly. It looked like Arthur Weasley. _What is he doing here? _Harry quickly ran down the stairs before Vernon succeeded in chasing Arthur off. "We don't want your kind here!" Vernon repeated angrily not for the first time since this freak arrived.

"Aah! Harry! How nice to see you!" Arthur happily exclaimed.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley." Harry answered with a smile.

"Get all your things Harry, you will stay with us the last days before Hogwarts and also, I have some important news for you."

"Oh!" Vernon grunted, happy to know that he would be rid of his disgusting nephew two days earlier than expected. It was like finding out you had two pieces of pie left when you thought they were all out. "Well hurry up boy! Don't want to keep the man waiting now do we?" He urged with an ugly smile. _No, on that we agree dear uncle._

Puzzled, but also happy, Harry hurried to get his things ready. Luckily he had managed to convince Vernon to allow him to go and get his stuff a few days earlier in exchange for doing extra work around the house. And so, ten minutes later he stood with all his stuff on the porch of number 4 Privet Drive. Next to him stood a slightly stressed Arthur Weasley.

"First we'll drop off all of your stuff at the Burrow. Ready? Well then, hold on to me."

"Ready for wh..." Before Harry could finish the whole world lurched and the ground disappeared below him until suddenly he was down on his knees in the grass. He felt sick. Once the world stopped spinning he looked up and saw the Burrow. There was Molly, looking at him with pity showing in her eyes. He wasn't sure how he felt about her. She was a kind and motherly figure but it went almost too fast how she had taken in him. In a sense, it was almost creepy. "How do you feel dear?" Molly asked sincerely, but then hurried on as if it didn't really matter. "I will take all your things to Ron's room. You go with Arthur on your next business."

"Thank you Molly dear. Are you ready Harry?"

"Where are we going?" Harry asked confused.

"Why, to the ministry of course!" Arthur exclaimed. "You have been called there."

"This late? What for?" Harry was nearly bursting with questions.

"I am sorry dear Harry, but I do not know." Arthur seemed to be both curious and sad about that. "Ready?"

This time Harry knew what to expect and he tightly closed his eyes before nodding slightly. It wasn't as bad as the first time but it was still uncomfortable. When he opened his eyes again he was standing in the ministry in front of a big fountain. Before he could examine it closer Arthur dragged him away to a side door.

"Come now Harry, we don't have any time to spare." He said while leading them down a long corridor until he got to a door with the sign Head of Child Care. He knocked and got a damped "Come in" for answer and the door opened, seemingly by itself.

"Go on! I will be waiting right here." Arthur said encouragingly while Harry, unsure of himself, slowly walked into the office. It was your everyday office, with a desk in the middle. Behind the desk sat a big man with his hands clasped. He had a thick mustache and not a lot of hair on his head. Behind him was a hooded person standing with their back towards Harry. The big man gestured for Harry to sit in the chair opposite him. Hesitatingly, Harry sat down, all the while staring at the mysterious person with their back turned. He was guessing where this was going, and hoping that he was right.

The big reached out with his right hand. "Stan Crawford, at your service Mr. Potter." It was a gruff voice, suited to his looks. Still uncertain, Harry shook his hand while looking suspiciously at the hooded figure. "Now, you might wonder why you are here," Crawford continued. "It has come to our attention that your parents left behind a will. A hidden will that none other than Albus Dumbledore kept in his possession."

"What? Professor Dumbledore hid it?" Harry was flabbergasted to say the least.

Crawford gave him a calculated look. "Yes, it was only by chance that professor McGonagall happened upon him when he was fiddling with it. Now it is here in our possession and we will inform you of the part that involves you. Do you follow me so far?"

"Y-yes of course, please tell me!"

Crawford slid a paper over the desk to Harry. "Instead of me telling you, you may read the part yourself."

Without wasting anytime Harry snatched up the paper and started reading.

_To Harry, our dear Harry,_

_We are so sorry to leave you like this. We dearly wished to watch you grow up, take your first steps, __**fly on your first broom,**__ send you off to Hogwarts, __**watch the girls chase after you, or boys if you swing that way,**__ be serious! __**I'm not Sirius, I'm Jam-Ouch! But you know Harry is gonna be a real charmer, Lily.**__ Of course he will, but that's outside the point. __**Yes ma'am. **__Good. Anyway Harry, there are some things that we want you to know. First comes first, while Sirius is your godfather, he is not really parent-material but more like a mischievous older brother so the ones to take custody of you will be Frank and Alice Longbottom. They also got a son, born on the very same day as you Harry. __**You'll love it with them, Alice is almost as hot as your mo-Ouff! Stop that Lily!**__ I already warned you! __**Yes, yes. **Anyway, b__arring their availability we would want Zadoc and Celia Greengrass to take custody of you. They are a wonderful pair and have a daughter the same age as you. __**And with the looks of her mother she's gonna grow up to be a real beauty.**__ James! __**Lily!**__ (sigh) Harry, there is one thing you should know. You are a special boy.__** Let me say this Lily, you got to say everything else. Harry, in your blood, as in mine there is a special ability. The Potters have always been exceptionally good at handling fire. This is because we have a special affinity to fire. With training one can even learn to control it. Even without a wand. Once you are thirteen you should talk with Minerva or Celia. They should know what to do. **__We love you Harry, and wish you all the best! __**Just know that we will be proud of you no matter what and you will always be our favorite son.**__ He is our only son, dork. __**Yes, but it doesn't make it any less true!**__ Fair enough!  
>Bye Harry! <em>_**Bye son. Let us hope that you will never have to read this letter.**_

_**With**__ love,_

_Lily and __**James Potter**_

Harry hadn't even noticed he was crying until a tear dropped onto the parchment. It was a lot to take in. He had a godfather called Sirius? He knew there was a Sirius Black on the run from Azkaban. Is it that Sirius? And he wouldn't have to live with the Dursleys anymore. Frank and Alice were Neville's parents, but they were at St Mungo's. That left Greengrass? Daphne Greengrass was a girl in Harry's year, is it her parents they meant? But she was a Slytherin! All the while Crawford still stared at Harry with his calculating eye. That's when Harry remembered the hooded figure in the room. Hastily he looked up but the figure wasn't standing behind Crawford anymore. Instead the figure had moved to stand beside Harry, with their hand resting reassuringly on his shoulder. It was warm. Comforting. Harry looked up at their face and realized it was a woman. The hood had been drawn back. She had long, blond, nearly silver hair. Her face was as if chiseled out of a marble with straight and beautiful lines. But what made the biggest impression were her eyes. They were silver-gray with a touch of mist in them until they focused onto his and then the mist was gone.

"A-are you Celia?" Harry asked, fumbling to pronounce the words.

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**Authors Notes:** Thank you for reading! The Greengrass eyes are something I read about in another fanfiction and it just felt right. However I do not know yet what power they hold. About the will, I imagined Lily and James dictating to a magical quill, much like the one Rita Skeeter has, also they didn't have time to edit it and that's why it is as if a dialogue with interruptions et cetera. Hope you liked it and please review! Would love to get feedback and your input on what you think will happen later in the story!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Now this is my second chapter just one day after the first chapter! Thank you for the Reviews, follows and favorites so far! I have gotten a really good response. The inspiration is flowing and so the chapters come rolling in. The chapters will probably get longer and longer the more used to this I get. So I hope you are looking forward to it because I certainly am! This is probably how the chapters will be formatted from now on.

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"Yes, Harry, I hope you don't mind me calling you Harry, I am Celia Greengrass," she stated calmly. "My husband and I were both good friends of your parents, despite me being a Slytherin. My husband was a Hufflepuff, not that it really matters. From now on, you will be living with me and my family in our manor. It is something that should have happened a long time ago. You should have grown up with a family who loves you and cares for you. Not like those... people, you call relatives." This she said with a cold sneer on her face. Harry almost started to fear for the Dursleys well-being. Almost.

"Well, if you both feel willing to accept each other as foster mother and foster son from now on I suppose it is concluded." Crawford interjected. "This means that Celia and Zadoc will from now on be the magical and legal guardians of Harry Potter-Greengrass." At this both Harry and Celia nodded. _Even if it is bad, it can't be worse than the Dursleys._ "Then, Lady Greengrass, if you will just sign here we will be all done!" With a smile, Crawford handed over a contract and quill which Celia quickly read through and signed, giving it back to Crawford with a kind and satisfied nod.

"I know that it is late, but I hope that you will be able to come live with us and eventually be able to feel as if you are one of us. Hogwarts is starting soon and while you are there I would like you to try and spend some time with Daphne. Just to get to know each other. Can you do this for me?" Harry wouldn't have argued even if he wanted to. Something about this woman demanded his respect, and so he gave it.

"I think I can do that." Harry nodded weakly. Then he remembered that he was invited to the Burrow before Hogwarts and he thought he should tell her. "I a-am invited to live at the Burrow… with the Weasleys until school starts, I just thought you should know." It felt good having to report his activities to someone. At least to someone who actually care.

"Yes, if I remember correctly, Mr. Weasley is standing just outside. Maybe it's time to let him in." She looked sharply in Crawford's direction and he hurried up to get the door. _She doesn't just demand respect from me, but from everybody._ A tired and strained Mr. Weasley was just outside, a little surprised by being jostled into the room all of a sudden by the big man.

"Hello Mr. Weasley," Celia greets Arthur Weasley. "I am Celia Greengrass. As you might have guessed, this meeting was about changing Harry's magical and legal guardian. We found a will by his late parents and immediately enforced it. Of course, it was all agreed upon by Harry and now you are looking at Harry Potter-Greengrass, my newly adopted son." Lady Celia Greengrass was not one to dance around when she wanted to say something. She talked fast and was very direct in her words. Arthur Weasley blinked loudly, if that is even possible, while he tried to process all the new information. However, Celia gave him no time to rest. "Now, I understand you have arranged for Harry to live at your house for the next two days. While I am not extremely happy about it, it might be for the best so that Harry has some time to get used to the idea and process the new information he has received. But I expect to see you early at King's Cross station and we will talk again there."

"Yes, of course. Naturally. Yes." Arthur was almost blundering around. "We will take care of Harry until school starts. Very good." At this, Arthur reached out with his hand to shake that of Celia's.

She looked at it, and then a little hesitatingly she shook the extended hand. Next, she turned to Harry. "Now then, unless there is something you need to ask me right now, I am extremely tired and need to go to bed. I expect you to do the same." She gave them both a stern look.

This prompted Arthur to look at the watch hanging over the door. "For Merlin's sake! It is half past two already. Let's get going Harry. We have no time to spare if we want a good night's rest."

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It was early morning and the whole Burrow was asleep. Once they returned, Harry had had to tiptoe to reach his bed so as not to wake Ron. Now the sun was almost rising and Harry had not gotten a minute of sleep since he left the Dursleys. There was simply too much to take in. Just like that, he was now free from the Dursleys. Just like that he got a new family, with at least one person who cared for his well-being. He wasn't too keen on spending time with Daphne but if it pleased Celia, he would be more than happy to. He felt that he wanted to impress her. It was a strange feeling. He had wanted to impress people before, Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, and even – though he would never admit it to himself -Professor Snape. However, this was different, it was more personal. It felt… good. Little did he know that through his act of leaving the Dursleys he had abandoned one of the strongest protections magic can offer and thus made it easier for anyone to find him. For better or for worse. Whichever it was, this night was gonna be a long and sleepless one.

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Ron woke with a start. He wasn't alone in his room. There was someone lying on a mattress on the floor. It looked like Harry. Harry? "Harry!" It was more of a squeal than anything else. Puberty hadn't been very kind to his voice.

"Good morning Ron," was what Harry was going to say before he got tackled by a 110 pound boy with red hair. "I am sorry Ron but I don't swing that way." Suddenly, Ron, a little embarrassed tried to get up but before he could two new people joined the fray. But before he could do anything two new even heavier weights pressed him down. Harry could feel a wolfish grin growing on his face.

"Hello Fred. Hello George."

"Well, if it isn't ickle Ronnie-kins and Harry-kins going at it already."

"We thought it was Ginny we had to keep away from Harry."

"We have been proven wrong before."

"Not often, but it happens."

"It didn't seem to stop you from joining us." Harry bit back.

"Wow, there is a little bite in him."

"It seems he has grown some since we last saw him."

"Check if he doesn't sport some teeth."

"Get off me." Ron growled. He had had enough. Harry couldn't really blame him. If this continued much longer he would soon be as flat as a pancake that Dudley eats for breakfast.

A tiny voice broke the jostling. "Mum says to stop making a ruckus and be down for breakfast ten minutes ago." This caused more jostling and soon everybody was hurrying down the stairs for Molly Weasleys famous breakfasts.

"Hi Ginny." Harry said as he passed her down the stairs.

"Hi Harry." She mumbled back, a look of shy excitement on her face.

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Stuffed with more of Molly's eggs and sausages than Harry thought was possible he followed the twins out of the Burrow. Percy was there, but he immediately went to his room, saying he had to prepare for the school year as he was going to be Head Prefect, something Molly was immensely proud about, but Harry heard one of the twins say something about writing letters to a girl. At this he got a deathly glare from Percy. Bill was on a mission for Gringotts and Charlie was in Romania.

"Come on Harry, let's play some quidditch!" Ron was extremely excited.

"I wanna play too!" Ginny pouted.

"No can do Ginny-kin," Fred started.

"We'll be an uneven number then," George finished.

"Not if your old man joins," came Arthur's voice from the doorway. This caused all the Weasley children's mouths to drop at least two inches. "Now don't look like that or your jaw will fall off. Your father was quite the chaser in his time. If you actually would look at all the trophies you have cleaned while in detention you would see that one of them belongs to me as the record holder of being the student scoring the most points during his stay at Hogwarts."

"What!" Fred started.

"You got…" George continued.

"To be kidding." Ron finished. The three Weasley sons were of one mind. Awestruck. Only Ginny was able to keep her composure.

"I wanna team up with daddy!" She was quick to announce.

So they teamed up. The twins and Harry against Ron, Ginny and Arthur. It was a close game, Arthur proved to be a man of his word and he and Ginny worked wonders with each other. If Harry and the twins weren't already used to playing with each other they would probably have lost. It also helped whenever Ron participated in attacking. He was a brilliant keeper, but as a chaser he was far below average. A fact that did not do anything to improve his already souring mood.

The day continued along those lines and Harry was happy to be with his friends. However, there was one thing bothering him. He hadn't told Ron about his new circumstances yet. He didn't know how his friend would take it. Ron wasn't exactly the most accepting of people and he definitely held a grudge against any Slytherin.  
>"Hey, Ron." Harry began as they went to bed.<p>

"Yeah?" A tired Ron answered with his face against the wall.

"You know, I have something important to tell you, but I wanna wait until tomorrow so that I won't have to repeat myself to Hermione. I just thought I would give you a heads up." If he could see Ron's face at that moment he would have seen the jealousy and anger that flashed across his face but luckily he didn't, or unluckily. After a while Ron simply grunted and went to sleep.

Harry was a little unsure about this reaction but it was soon forgotten. He was having butterflies as big as dragons in his stomach and despite being awake for almost twenty-four hours he had trouble falling asleep. Eventually, even he succumbed to the dreamworld and fell asleep, excited for tomorrow.

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_He was running from something, but his head was too close to the ground. Then he noticed, he had paws for feet. And there were four of them. Big black paws. He was a dog? More like a hound judging by the size. What was he running from? It was getting colder and colder. **They would soon be upon him**. **He needed to get out of here, but he had no wand**. __Wait, that wasn't Harry's thoughts. Who was that? __That's when he saw the big man a few leaps away, it looked like Crabbe, but older and bigger. The man had his wand out and was waving it in front of some muggles, they seemed to be in pain and they cringed every time the man waved his wand. __**Perfect, he would use this man's wand to make his escape**__. He took three great leaps and then jumped towards the man. The extra look of terror on the muggles caused the man to turn around.__** Too late, **__the hound thought. Just as the man's eyes widened in shock Harry could feel his teeth around the man's wand-arm so he dropped the wand. He could taste the blood. Then would probably keep his arm, but it was a close call. Then Harry could feel himself growing taller. He no longer had any paws but stood straight with arms and legs. He was a human again and bent down to pick up the wand. Just before he apparated away the man, who had now fallen to his knees, gasped in shock with his eyes bulging._

"_Sirius, Sirius Black!_

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Harry woke with a shock. What was that, a dream? Sirius Black? Was it his godfather? Was it that Sirius? How many different Sirius could there be? After a few minutes of serious thinking, he added another thing to the list of questions he had for Celia before they went to Hogwarts. Now, he would make sure that he was fully rested and prepared for the meeting.

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**AN:** Thank you for reading and please review! If you have any idea of what you think or want to happen next in the story. If it is in the close future or more distant one doesn't matter! All feedback and ideas are appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Here is the third chapter! 3 chapters in 3 nights so far! However, don't expect such fast updating in the future, the chapters will probably take more time to upload but they will also be longer. Finally, Harry meets Daphne!

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King's Cross Station was nearly empty. Or empty is not the right word, but it felt empty. Maybe it was because they were early. The train wouldn't leave for another two hours but here they were, standing in front of the entrance to platform 9 ¾, the whole Weasley family, excluding Charlie and Bill, and then of course, Harry Potter. Opposite them stood a tall blond woman, an even taller, lean, brown haired man and two blond girls.

"Hello Harry, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I am Celia Greengrass. Let me present you to my family. This is my husband, Zadoc, and these are my two adoring daughters, Daphne and Astoria." She presented her family without taking her eyes from Harry.

They all shared the same hard and straight lines in their face except the smallest girl, she must be Astoria. The girls also possessed the eyes of their mother, silver-gray but without any of the mist that Harry saw the first time he peered into Celia's eyes. However, the one who caught his eye the most was the other girl, Daphne. She was, to say the least, beautiful. Her body had just begun to mature, a fact Harry couldn't help but notice. Before he had a chance to look away, she turned to him, her eyes giving him a frosty glare. There was certainly not any friendship there. Just hate. Then he remembered, _she is called the Slytherin Ice Queen, she is known for her cold behavior, and I don't think I am on her nice-list. __A shudder ran down Harry's back._ Indeed, she seemed to have a disapproving eye for Harry, and a somewhat distasteful eye for Ron. The rest, she ignored. Ron on the other hand looked confused, angry and confused. The rest were simply confused.

"Yes," Arthur started," Nice to meet you. This is my family…" he went on, presenting each and every Weasley that was present. "Now I understand that you wanted to meet with Harry personally?"

"Yes, if you don't mind, we will be taking Harry to a café and have a little chat." Celia raised an eyebrow as if to daring anyone to question it. It was Ron, who broke the silence.

"What are you going to do with Harry?" He hissed out. "Your daughter is a snake and I bet you are one too! I'm not letting Harry go with any snakes!" His face was now red with rage. _What is going on with Harry? Is this what he was talking about last night?_

"Ron!" Harry called out, causing everybody to look at him. "This is my new adoptive family," He then added with a grin, "I am finally free from the Dursleys."

"Bu-but Harry! They are snakes!" Ron protested. "What were you thinking?" He was getting redder and redder. _How could Harry do this? I thought we were friends!_

"Meh," Harry shrugged, "they can't be worse than the Dursleys."

"Actually, I wasn't in Slytherin." Zadoc Greengrass interjected with a friendly smile. "I was in Hufflepuff."

"Puffs aren't much better," Ron started, "Everybody knows that the only ones who get into Hufflepuff are..."

"Are what, if I may ask Mr. Ronald Weasley?" Zadoc. Greengrass asked with a dangerous tone in his voice. Even though his eyes were of a dark brown color, they seemed to be on fire at the moment. Harry could almost feel the energy burning inside of them. There was something in them that, much like in Celia's, demanded respect, but instead of the icy cold, they suggested a warmer, however equally sharp and strong, mind.

Before Ron could answer, Molly stepped in, equally red in her face. "How come you are Harry's guardians and not us? If anyone deserves to adopt him it should be us and not some, as my son so rightfully called you, snakes! Everybody knows that Slytherin is full of dark wizards!" This outburst really shocked Harry. So much that even his temper flared. This was not how he imagined meeting his adoptive family would be like!

"They were mentioned in a will from my dead parents that they would have custody of me in case my parents died!" He had slowly built up his voice and was now yelling. "A will that Professor McGonagall luckily chanced upon, seeing Dumbledore playing with it!" He remembered now, the Weasleys and Dumbledore had always had a good relationship. "Did you perhaps already know about it, _Molly?_" He spit out venomously.

At this, Molly's eyes widened. "No, Harry! Of course not! I was just speaking out of concern for you." She was close to tearing up and Harry immediately felt bad, thinking that there was no way that Mrs. Weasley could possibly do something like that.

"I am sorry, Mrs. Weasley. I got a little too angry, that's all," He apologized.

"I think it is best you come with us for a while Harry." Celia Greengrass stated, taking Harry's hand and walking away with him and the rest of the family to the cafeteria just outside the station. The Weasleys, still confused, stared at them as they walked away.

There was about one and half hours until the train would leave.

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"So, Harry. Now you know who we are, where and how we live and you know how we knew your parents. Is there anything else you would like to know?" Celia asked Harry while sipping her tea. They were sitting in a small private room around a round table. All the cold and hardness Harry had felt while standing in front of the platform entrance was gone and now left, was a kind and homely warmth. Except for Daphne, all Harry could feel when he looked at her was ice. Hard and cold ice. Harry tried not to look at her, but his eyes kept glancing towards her every now and then, only to quickly be averted again.

"Sorry, what?" Harry came back to himself after an especially long look at Daphne while she was drinking her tea. He didn't feel any chill at all as long as she focused on something else than him. He wanted to get to know her better. Maybe he could get past this coldness of hers.

With a knowing smile, Celia repeated herself. Harry could feel himself blushing but quickly tried to shake it off.

Harry jumped at the chance. "I want to know how my parents were like. What they did during their lives and with whom. I also want to know who my godfather Sirius is, and if that escaped Sirius Black is him. I have dreamt about him, or more dreamt _being_ him, Sirius Black that is. I want to know why Dumbledore kept this will hidden for such a long time. And I wanna know what this fire affinity my father mentioned is. He said to ask you or Professor McGonagall." The words kept tumbling out of him until Zadoc held up his hand to stop him.

"Calm down, Harry." He said with a small chuckle. "We don't have time to answer all of that. The Hogwarts Express is leaving soon. However, I can say that your godfather Sirius is indeed Sirius Black. Right now he is on the run from Azkaban, supposedly a dangerous criminal. But I feel there is something fishy there, he never did get to have a trial." Now he got a serious look to his eyes. "We will talk more about your dreams later, as well as about Dumbledore. I think Celi and I will go and pay the old professor a visit, very soon." Then his eyes softened again. "I promise we will tell you everything we know about your parents as well when we have time. Maybe we could tell you some stories during Christmas if you would like to celebrate it with us?" Harry could only nod, filled with eager excitement as Zadoc leaned back, his eyes losing focus. "However, I do have time to say that they were some of the most wonderful friends we had. Lily with her caring heart and James with his witty humor. A day didn't pass that wasn't filled with laughter whenever they were around."

Harry could barely get out a sound. "Were they really that wonderful?" He whispered.

In an instance, Zadoc's eyes snapped back into focus. "We all got our faults, Harry. Nobody is perfect, not us and not your parents. However, as I remember them, they really were wonderful." For a while there was a silence, not a strained one, but a comfortable one. It gave Harry time to melt all the new information and reassured him. It was Celia who finally broke the silence.

"Now then, it is time to board the train. Harry, Daphne and Astoria, I expect you all to share the same compartment on the train." She said sternly.

"But mom," Astoria whined who had been sitting quiet and listened to the whole meeting while eyeing Harry as if she was looking at a fascinating piece of jewelry that she couldn't take her eyes off. It was actually quite unnerving to Harry.

"No buts! In the last hour Harry has gotten to know us, now it is time he got to know you and you him. You are adoptive siblings and you should get to know each other. Who knows, you may be surprised by what you learn about each other." Celia's face had changed from the stern no-nonsense expression to a smug grin that caused the children to sigh and answer with a, "Yes, mom". Even Harry did it reflexively and he didn't pay attention to it until he noticed Daphne's glare and realization dawned on him. If looks could kill, he would have been put out of existence that very moment. He didn't dare look anywhere but on the ground. _Good job Harry! Way to get ahead of yourself!_

"I-I a-am s-sorry," he managed to stutter out, "I d-didn't mean to…"

"It's fine Harry." As Harry raised his head he saw Celia and Zadoc, they were both wearing a soft and compassionate smile. "I would be happy if you called me mum, but don't feel forced to do anything. Now, let's hurry to the train before it's too late."

"Ok, then!" Astoria surprised them all, grabbing both Harry's and Daphne's arms in her own and marching them out of the café. "Let's go find a compartment!"

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Astoria while humming softly to herself was reading a book, _Hogwarts, A History_. Harry, Astoria, Daphne, Ron and Hermione were all sitting together in a compartment at the back of the train. Harry sorely yearned for the time when they would reach Hogwarts and he could sit at the Gryffindor table and eat the feast that was waiting for them. It was still a few hours away, but it felt like a lifetime.

Since they boarded they had, to a certain redheaded's disappointment, found Ron and Hermione and joined them. It took a while but Harry managed to explain all that had happened in the last two days. Now that he was finally done, he had hoped that they might come to an understanding, but he could never have been more wrong. There was not a good atmosphere in the compartment.

Ron's face was all red and it had been for the last hour as far as Harry knew. All he seemed to care about was that Harry's new adoptive sister, Daphne, was a Slytherin and probably Astoria would be as well. He kept glaring at them and Harry started to wonder if Ron tried to set them on fire with just his eyes. Daphne on the other hand was a completely different matter. She kept glaring at Harry, then Ron, then Hermione and then giving Astoria a confused but loving look, switching targets every few seconds. Instead of burning her targets on sight, Harry was convinced that she was trying to freeze them all with her glare. Then there, was Hermione. She sat nervously with a book on her lap, trying to hide her ill-concealed surprise and she also seemed somewhat hurt from the news. Astoria on the other hand was the only one who actually seemed comfortable. She sat next to Harry and sometimes leaned on him as if leaning on an older brother. It was a bit awkward but Harry could feel a brotherly sense of love growing each time Astoria touched him. She chattered away about what Hogwarts was like, what house she would be sorted into and what she would learn. The rest of the compartment tried to keep up with her while at the same time, never missing a chance to glare, or try to avoid the glares in Hermione's case. Harry closed his eyes and wished for the Hogwarts feast to come faster, but, it was to no avail.

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**AN: **Thanks for reading! A lot of threads in the story has been started with this chapter and I will be working on figuring out all the little turns and twists. Daphne and Harry finally meets! However, Daphne is very cold towards Harry. Why is that? Astoria will probably play a big part in warming her up. In the next chapter some dementors are to be expected, but maybe not in the way you think? Review your thoughts/feedback, everything and anything is appreciated and thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it :)


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** I can't believe how fast I am writing these chapters! It is crazy what a motivation boost it is to get follow, favs and reviews! 100 follows hype! Now, back to the story. This chapter is the longest so far, about 3000 words. And they will get longer! Enjoy and please review!

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_He was running. Running from what? __**How come the dementors always find me? When I was in Azkaban they just went past my dog-form but now they are actively chasing me. How is this possible? I have to get away. **__He was a dog again. Is this Sirius? What is a dementor? He was running towards a village. __**If I can just get into a house I will have time to apparated away. Then I can finally infiltrate Hogwarts and get that little rat! He will not escape again!**__ Get who? __**Pettigrew…**__ What! Did he just answer me? He ran into the closest house, Honey-something, shocking the receptionist into fainting. __**I have to remember that I am not just a dog, but a Grim.**__ Once inside he turned back into a human and prepared to apparated. __**Wait, this is Honeydew! That means I am in Hogsmeade, I could use this chance to sneak into Hogwarts. The dementors won't be able to follow me there.**__ With a grim look on his face he went outside to face the dementors. He drew the wand from his pocket and pictured the last time he saw Lily and James. "Expecto Patronum!" _

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Harry shuddered as he woke up. It was cold. He looked around. Ron and Hermione were gone and only Daphne and Astoria were left. Was that a bruise on Daphne's chin? What happened? Before he managed to ask anything he saw that they were both facing the compartment door with a look of terror on their faces. Even Astoria wasn't close to as comfortable as she had been before Harry fell asleep. Harry also turned towards the door. There was frost on the glass. _Frost, on the 1__st__ of September?_ Nobody said a word. With dread they watched a skeletal hand dragging up the door further and further. It grew colder and colder. Harry remembered his dream. Sirius had thought about Harry's parents, and it had made him happy. Somehow Harry took comfort in that. What was it Sirius had said after that?

"Expecto Patronum!" A silvery mist spread out of Harry's wand and skeletal hand drew back, only for the whole creature to come back, the assault several times stronger. As the cold was about to overtake him he heard a woman scream, but just as everything was about to turn black, another voice, stronger, came from the corridor.

"Expecto Patronum!" This time there was no mist, instead a silvery wolf charged the creature from the corridor and chased the creature away. Now, instead of that skeletal creature, there was a man in the doorway. He wore ragged clothes and looked as tired as Harry felt. "Here, eat this." He said and tossed them all some chocolate.

"Who are you?" Daphne managed to say after eyeing the chocolate suspiciously. The man had taken a seat across from her, and was now making himself comfortable.

"I, am, Remus Lupin. Your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. And Ms. Greengrass, if I was going to poison you, this would certainly not be the way I would go about it. Eat. It will make you feel better." His words were simple, yet they brook no argument, and with eyes full of awe they obediently ate the chocolate. A few minutes later Harry, feeling much better, broke the silence.

"Uhm, excuse me, Professor Lupin?" Harry asked carefully." What was that… that thing?" He tried to gesture with his hand to show what he meant.

"That thing, Mr. Potter, was a dementor. They are the guards of Azkaban. They feed on bad memories and it seems that that one took a special liking to yours. However, what I am the most interested in, is how you knew the spell to drive it away." He looked at Harry expectantly.

Harry simply looked away and shrugged. "I saw it in a dream."

At this he earned more than one curious look from more than one person. "We will speak about this later Mr. Potter. For now I will leave you alone. By the way, you should probably change into your robes soon. We just passed Hogsmeade and we'll soon be at Hogwarts." Lupin finished with a smile and then smoothly departed from the compartment.

As soon as he left, Harry closed the door and turned to Daphne. She didn't really seem to like him but he liked Celia and Zadoc, so he would at least try to befriend her.

"Hey, are you alright? Who did that to you?" He gestured towards her slightly bruised chin.

"Your "friend" Weasley was so kind to do this to me! Then he ran off with that Hermione girl."Came a hiss back. Did she blame him for Ron hitting her? Here he was trying to be nice and she just threw it in his face.

"You think I am responsible for something that Ron did?" He shouted to her.

"Well, you share his sentiment towards Slytherins don't you?" She answered calmly. "I bet you would love to hit us _snakes_ that you hate so much." This caused Harry to flinch. He did really have a bad view of Slytherin, but maybe not all of them were evil. Celia didn't seem to be a dark wizard and she was a Slytherin.

"I-I would never do that." His voice had lost all its strength. "I've only answered whenever Malfoy and his gang did something. I didn't start anything!" Why was he on the defence now? This was not how it was supposed to go.

"Oh, yeah?" She raised an eyebrow. "And that time you used polyjuice potion and sneaked into the Slytherin common room then? Was that also an answer to something Draco did?" Once again, Harry flinched. _How did she know about that?_

"How, could you know that?" He asked. She didn't answer and just stared at him instead, but Harry thought he could see some mist welling up in her eyes for an instant. He blinked. It was gone. _Did I imagine that? I saw something similar in Celia's eyes the first time I met her._

"How could you know that?" He repeated. _If she knows, then who else knows?_

"It's our eyes." Instead of Daphne it was Astoria who answered, but instead of continuing about her eyes she switched topics. "What Daphne was meaning to say," she gave her sister a meaningful look, "was that Ron started insulting Daphne and then he started insulting me, which caused Daph to slap him and then Ron hit her back, but before any more could happen, Hermione dragged Ron out of the compartment. Honestly Harry, I am surprised you could sleep through all of that. There was more than a little shouting." Harry and Daphne just stared at Astoria who was getting her things ready while humming. Harry turned to Daphne who turned away, embarrassed.

"I don't think you were in the wrong Daphne," she gave him a tired glare, "Ron shouldn't have started throwing insults and he definitely deserved whatever you gave to him." Her glare softened. "Not everyone in Gryffindor is like Ron."

"We're not friends. But I haven't accepted you as part of my family either." Harry nodded. It was a start. "Not everyone in Slytherin is like that stupid git Malfoy either." At this, Harry smiled a little. Astoria, however, wore a full-sized grin.

"We're here, she said."

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As Harry exited the train he was suddenly embraced by an enormous man. "Hello Hagrid."

"Hello Harry," Hagrid beamed back, "summer break bin good on yeh?"

"Actually, quite a lot happened…" Harry began but was interrupted.

"Yeh'll have to tell me later. I've to take care o' some firs' years firs'. Yeh should come fer tea someday."

"I'd like that Hagrid." Harry answered back with a smile but Hagrid probably didn't hear him, he was already on his way through the mass of students and trolleys.

"Firs' years to me!" He bellowed. "If yeh're a firs' year, follow me!"

Harry looked at Astoria and Daphne as they said goodbye to each other, Daphne seemed to reassure her and pointed to Hagrid. As Astoria left she waved to Harry with a bright shining smile. _Why couldn't Daphne be more like Astoria_, he thought as he made his way to the wagons and the great feast that was waiting for him.

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"Potter! I want to see you now!" A familiar voice called as the students bustled into the Great Hall. With a sigh Harry stepped to the side and walked towards Professor McGonagall. "I just want a word in my office." She stated it simply, as if a fact and then proceeded to usher him away from the chattering crowd.

Once they were in her office, a circular room, full of bookshelves and a large, welcoming fire, Professor McGonagall motioned Harry to sit down. She settled herself behind the desk and said abruptly, "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say what happened on the train, Potter. I heard you managed to fight off a dementor long enough for help to arrive. Excellent work! Ten points to Gryffindor." She seemed proud. "How did you know the patronus charm?"

So Harry quickly explained his latest dream about Sirius Black and how it had just felt right to do it. "Can I go eat now? I'm starving." He asked impatiently, not wanting to experience the embarrassment of Professor McGonagall hearing his stomach rumble.

"One second, Potter. There is another matter I would like to touch on." She wore a serious expression and Harry groaned silently. "I take it you visited the ministry two days ago? And everything went well?"

_Oh, right! It was she who had found the will_. How could he forget? "Yes, Professor," He answered eagerly, "I am now adopted by the Greengrass family and they seem to be a wonderful family! I'm gonna spend Christmas with them and get to know them better." For an instance, he thought he could see a smile crack Professor McGonagall's stern expression. But then again, maybe he imagined it.

"Good. I think you will take a liking to them. Celia and Zadoc are the best kind of wizards!" Harry's jaw almost dropped. Professor McGonagall actually had praise for someone like that? And they were even on first-name terms. "Don't just sit there with your mouth hanging open, Potter. Now go jump along, before you miss the feast."

Harry didn't hesitate to obey and hurried down to the Great Hall. _I hope I didn't miss Astoria's sorting._ As he got to the Great Hall, he tried to sneak in without anyone noticing but it was impossible. At the teachers table, Dumbledore eyed him thoughtfully, his eyes twinkling. Professor Lupin was there too, conversing with a newly arrived McGonagall. Snape was there as well, giving all who dared to meet his eye a glare that promised another year of bullying in Potions. The students were whispering about something and sometimes they pointed at him. He tried to ignore it and found a seat next Katie Bell and proceeded to concentrate on the sorting. _Good. There are a few left, and Astoria is among them._

"Is it true, what they are saying?" A curious Katie Bell whispered to him.

"What?" He asked, confused. What were they saying?

"That you battled a dementor and managed to chase it away." Katie answered, starting to doubt the rumors.

"Oh, that!" Harry said, satisfied that he knew what all the whispering was about. Then he realized the impression he gave and hurriedly added, "I just managed to chase it off for a second, then it came back but we were lucky and Professor Lupin came to help us." Harry realized that more than Katie were listening in on him and as he looked around he saw that the students seemed to be a little relieved that he didn't fight off the dementor all by himself. However, there was still a glint of awe in their eyes as they looked at him.

It was now Astoria's turn to be sorted. She was the last one and she seemed a little nervous but otherwise alright. Harry was probably more nervous than she was. Did he dare hope for to join Gryffindor? He had to come grow fond of her, despite not even knowing her for a day. She was just so…lovable. He glanced towards Ron who sat some spaces away with Hermione next to him. As Ron peered at Astoria there was a dangerous look to his face, a look that Harry didn't like at all. _Maybe it would be better if she didn't become Gryffindor._ She would probably become a Slytherin, just like her sister. She did seem to be very cunning. Harry had just enough time to think that it had taken quite a while to sort her until the sorting hat bellowed, "Ravenclaw".

The table next to Harry started clapping and cheering loudly while Harry let out a relieved sigh, earning him some curious looks from his fellow students. He barely noticed, he was only thinking that Astoria would fit in well with Ravenclaw, from what he had seen so far, she was very bright for only being eleven. He glanced over to the Slytherin table, Daphne was sitting next to Tracey and seemed a little lonely, but it passed quickly and a smile decorated her face instead as she started talking to Tracey. _I wished she would smile at me like that_, Harry thought before he caught himself. What was that?

The cheering quieted down as Dumbledore rose and raised his hands."Welcome!" He began. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the ´way before you become befuddled be our excellent feast…" He cleared his throat and continued. "As you all will be aware of after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry on Magic business." Harry remembered his dream and realized, _they are here to catch Sirius Black!_

After a small pause, Dumbledore began anew. "They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I mast make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility cloaks," he added with a glance towards Harry. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors, he concluded. At this, Percy, sitting opposite Harry, puffed out his chest and looked around proudly.

Next, he proceeded to introduce the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, professor Lupin. And to the Professor's surprise he was welcomed by a wide range of enthusiastic applause. The students had all heard of him chasing away the dementor and it finally felt as if they would have a capable teacher. Then, Dumbledore introduced their other new teacher which, taking Harry and the rest of the student body by surprise, was Hagrid. At this almost as many applauded as for Professor Lupin. It was mainly the Slytherin table that kept quiet but Harry saw Tracey and Daphne clapping their hands when he looked their way, if not as enthusiastic as himself. How come he never noticed her sticking out from the rest before?

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," Dumbledore concluded. "Let the feast begin!"

Harry had waited for this the entire day, finally he was staring at the golden plates and goblets before him that were now filled with food. Harry, feeling ravenous, helped himself to everything he could reach and began to eat. It was every bit as delicious as he remembered it to be and he kept eating, leaving no room for talk. At last, after Harry ate his fifth piece of pumpkin tart and believed that his stomach would burst should he eat anymore, Dumbledore gave that word that it was time for them all to go to bed.

In the Gryffindor common room on the way to his dormitory he met Fred and George, happy as ever.

"You are quite the wizard Harry," one of them started.

"We heard that you battled off ten dementors," the other continued

"And saved both the Greengrass girls to boot."

"Now they are both in love with you…"

"And will do whatever you want." They were both grinning mischieviously as Harry felt his face grow hot with embarrassment.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear." He managed to get out before he hurried up to his dormitory with the twins laughter filling the common room behind him.

As he settled into his four-post bed he thought about the coming school year. His last thought before he comfortably fell asleep was that it was going to be a fun and interesting year, with so many new things going on in his life. He didn't spare a thought that he hadn't said a word the train. However, Ron certainly didn't miss that fact.

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**AN:** Thank you for reading! Most of Dumbles speech is basically the same as in the book (PoA) because I thought it was an important part and it is definitely gonna come into play later. It would be weird if he didn't warn them from the dementors, you know. But there is also some deviation from the book as you have probably noticed! Instead of just some scattered applause, now the whole school applauded Lupin's arrival. Come on, he chased off a dementor as if it was nothing with a wolf patronus. Who wouldn't be impressed? Now is when the real story starts! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and review if you feel like it!

**P.S.** I get if you are upset that Harry didn't really get upset with Ron for hitting Daphne but don't worry. All is as should be. It will be used later as a way to further their currently bad relationship. There might seem to be a lot of loose ends right now, but have in mind that the story is only beginning and hopefully I will be able to tie and weave it together into a great story that you can enjoy!

**P.P.S **I am having some trouble writing the next chapter since there are so many things I want to include and I am unsure how and where and with what to start. So chapter 5 might take a few days at least, but it will also probably be the longest one so far, I am thinking right now around 5000 words. If you have any tips on how to organize ones thoughts or idea's on what to happen next and where to start you are more than welcome to share them with me! Anything and everything is appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Thank you for waiting! This chapter was really heard to write since there are so many things happening at once that I want to write about, but I think I made a pretty good job of it. If there is any confusing section or something hard to follow then please tell me so I can fix it or clear it up! This is my first time writing a fanfiction and definitely a first time writing such a long chapter (5,8k words), so I suppose I am bound to make mistakes. However, I hope you will still be able to enjoy it!

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Minerva McGonagall was probably one of Great Britain's most respected female witches, if not the most respected one. Maybe Augusta Longbottom and Amelia Bones were in the same class as her but it didn't matter, it wasn't a competition. She was very proud of both of them, she mused to herself while preparing for the third years first transfiguration class, they had both been top students, and especially good with transfiguration. But back on track, there was almost no wizard who didn't have anything good to say about her. Even Voldemort himself had wanted her to join him during the last war, saying that she was a valuable asset to have on his side. She shuddered at the thought of it.

Minerva McGonagall had always prided herself on doing what she thought was right but now, for the first time, she was unsure of what to do. She had for a long time followed Dumbledore through life and death, not always agreeing with him, but at least she had been able to see his reasoning. Except when it came to Harry Potter, there their opinions were completely clashing, but as almost always, she had succumbed to Dumbledore's will and left the boy with his horrible muggle relatives. Until recently, that is. She is still finding it hard to remember that night when she found Dumbledore in his office, fingering a will from the late parents of Harry Potter. She had surprised both herself and the old man by quickly disarming and binding him, taking the will, and then a few seconds later left the office, without saying anything, to contact the Child Care Unit in the Ministry. Professor Minerva McGonagall, speechless! She snorted. There aren't many wizards or witches alive today that can say they ever experienced _that._ And a good fact that is, she does have a reputation to uphold.

Just as she had finished sorting her papers, the Gryffindor and Slytherin third years filed in. As they sat down in front of the pens they would turn into needles she noticed a sort of tension in the air. The students seemed to be unaware of it, but maybe she was more sensitive due to her senses being heightened from her animagus form. Then she saw that a certain boy with a lightning eye seemed to be looking everywhere except at one person, that person being a girl with silver-blond hair. Minerva McGonagall barely suppressed a smirk. Really, she would have to pull herself together if she was gonna be able to put up appearances, she thought as she began the class.

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Daphne woke up with a groan. She had barely gotten any sleep at all last night. Tracey had been too busy badgering her with questions and teasing her about Potter. As if she didn't have enough of him already by him simply invading her family just like that. Her mother, her father and even Astoria had taken a liking to him, that little twerp. Can't they see that Potter is dangerous? Everywhere he goes there is trouble. The people who are his friends get hurt. And even those friends are a problem. How could Potter be friends with such a narrow-minded person like that Ron Weasley? He had even hit her and instead of getting angry at Ron, Potter got mad at her. Sure, she may have put the blame of what Ron did on Potter and that is why he got mad at her, but that's outside of the point! Why is he making things so hard for her? And to top it all off, Astoria isn't even in Slytherin. She missed her sister. Astoria is gonna be perfect for Ravenclaw, she is smart and picks up any knowledge at an amazing rate, but Daphne still would have preferred to have her in the same house. Why is nothing going her way!

"Hey Daph," Tracey's voice came from the bed next to hers, "You busy thinking about Potter?" Daphne could almost hear the teasing smile that was definitely dancing around on Tracey's lips at the moment. She decided to ignore it.

"What do we have for first period?"

"Transfiguration," Tracey answered and then added in a snide comment. "With Loverboy of course." Now Daphne could definitely hear the smile that had trouble avoiding turning into laughter. Daphne suppressed another groan from reaching the outside world. _Tracey can be a real pain in the ass sometimes_.

An hour later they were on their way to the transfiguration classroom as Tracey nudged Daphne in her side. As Daphne glanced at her she saw what Tracey was looking at. A certain Gryffindor boy seemed to make it a point not to look at her. In fact, he seemed to make it a point to look everywhere _but_ at her. Gosh! Could he be more obvious? She gave him a short glare, which he didn't see but she sure hoped that he somehow felt it. She might have seen him shudder for a second there, or maybe she just imagined it. Sitting down at her desk next to Tracey she sighed, this day had not begun well at all.

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Harry got up out of bed, full of energy for the new school year.

"Hey, Ron!" He called out to his best friend. "You need to wake up, Ron."

"Five more minutes," A tired Weasley mumbled back.

"We got McGonagall first class, if you wanna come late to that, then that's up to you." At this Ron woke with a start and saw Harry's smiling face, he couldn't help but grin back. _How can I keep staying angry at this guy when he smiles at me like that?_ So Ron simply said what was on his mind.

"Hey, Harry. I get that you didn't have much choice in choosing your family. But that's alright, I promise we'll find a way to get you out of their clutches. Maybe mom and dad could adopt you?"

Harry met his question with a frown. "It's not like that, Ron. You have to understand that…"

"No!" Ron interrupted, "You are being manipulated Harry. They probably put you under a spell. You don't know their true faces. Did you know that that Slytherin bitch slapped me? She slapped me! And that sister of hers, she doesn't belong in Ravenclaw. She probably tricked the hat with her Slytherin ways to put her somewhere else just to make you trust her." His face was all red now, flustered with his rant and emotions all let out in an instance. This caused Harry's frown to deepen and a deep rumbling fire awoke inside of him.

"As I recall you were throwing insults at her and hit her back, _Ron_." Harry said through clenched teeth, his voice dangerous. "And don't you ever insult them so that I can hear again, Ron. Something bad will come of it." His green eyes seemed to be on fire and as he gazed at Ron all the candles in the dormitory lit up.

At this point the rest of the boys in the dormitory had woken up to the spectacle.

"Blimey," they heard Seamus' voice from another bed, "how'd this all happen?" He asked while looking around at all the lit up candles. Neville had also noticed the candles and was glancing around nervously. Only Dean didn't react. As far as Harry knew, he was still sleeping.

"Harry, Ron. What is happening?" Neville asked in a tiny frightened voice.

"Nothing." Harry and Ron answered together and then they wordlessly began to extinguish all the lights to then get ready for breakfast. Ron could only think about how his friend was being manipulated by the Slytherins. _It's even worse than I thought._ However, neither one of them brought the subject up again. Harry, probably in vain, only hoped that Ron would drop it if given time.

While making their way down to the Great Hall they met Hermione. Harry was glad to meet his bushy-haired friend. They had barely spoken at all yesterday.

"Hi Hermione." He greeted her with a wide smile.

"Hi Harry, Ron." She answered them with a tired voice and a nod.

"Is there something wrong Hermione?" Harry asked, worried. "You don't seem too well." Were her eyes red? He tried to get a closer look but she quickly turned her face away. Ron had stopped listeningen and was off talking quidditch with Seamus.

"It's nothing. Don't mind it. Let's go eat." And so they did.

About one hour later they were getting ready to enter the transfiguration classroom. As they were walking in Harry saw Daphne and Tracey on the other side of the hall. Tracey was wearing some sort of smirk and looked right at him. He couldn't let Daphne see him looking at her, it would probably only worsen their already pretty bad relationship. He started to look everywhere, except at Daphne, earning him a rather weird, and strangely, sad look from Hermione. He realized, too late, that what he was doing was almost as bad as staring right at Daphne would be. With a small curse at how stupid he was, he sat down next to Hermione and tried, futilely, to keep his eyes on Professor McGonagall. Next class would be Divination. With just Gryffindor. He could hardly wait.

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It was however, not in a good mood that Harry and the rest of Gryffindor left Divination. It had been ominous to say the least. Professor Trelawney had predicted Harry's death and the whole class kept a wary eye on him afterwards.

"I don't feel like going to the next Divination's class." Harry stated calmly. Inside he was panicking. He didn't want to die! He had finally left the Dursleys, gotten a new family and found out more about his parents, only to die a short time later? No way, he would not let that happen.

"I'm considering dropping it too." Ron's and Harry's mouths dropped open at Hermione's comment. "Don't look at me like that. It was a load of nonsense. Predicting peoples deaths with tealeaves. Come on, I have much more important things to spend my time on and my schedule is already full."

"It's not nonsense!" Ron returned. "The Grim is a real omen. Every wizard is afraid of it. My uncle saw one and 24 hours later he died."

"I don't care!" Harry ended the discussion before Hermione could answer. "I am sending a letter to Celia to drop it and take something else." At this Hermione nodded and Ron just ignored it. They headed down to lunch and then prepared for an hour of trying-not-to-fall-asleep with Professor Binns and one of his goblin wars.

That night Harry sent a letter to Celia, hoping she would help him in changing his subjects. He didn't really want to do Arithmancy or Runes but either was better than Divination. He expressed all of this in his letter and hoped for some kind of solution.

The next morning came a short note for an answer. _Go to Divination for now. We'll find a solution soon._ Harry sighed and bit into another piece of toast. Guess there was no helping it. He would endure through it. For now.

.

"That was amazing!" A lot of students exclaimed on their way out from their third DADA class with Professor Lupin. The Professor had somehow gotten a Grindylow and shown them how to fight and escape from one. The trick was to break their grip, especially the Revulsion Jinx would help with this as underwater - which would probably be the place where one would have to deal with a Grindylow - it shoots jets of boiling water.

Harry could only agree with the rest of the students' opinion of the class. Even Hermione seemed to be full of awe for the Professor.

"It seems like we finally got a competent DADA teacher." Ron said, giving voice to what everyone was thinking. He had seemingly forgotten or accepted Harry's new family by now, but Harry doubted it. Instead it felt like he was planning something and Harry would probably not like it.

"Harry!" Professor Lupin's voice called from the classroom. "Could I speak with you for a moment?"

"Go on, I'll come later." Harry shooed his two friends away to lunch and returned to the classroom. "You wanted to see me, Professor?" He asked as he got closer to the professor.

"Yes," Lupin answered. "For my next class I was planning on bringing a Boggart. Do you know what a Boggart is, Harry?" As he saw Harry shaking his head he continued. "A Boggart is a creature that takes on the form of the viewer's worst fear. I don't think it would be very good if we had…"

"If we had a Boggart take on the form of Voldemort, sir." Harry finished for him. Lupin simply nodded. "I don't think it can, Professor, if I understood your explanation correctly. I have no memory of Voldemort, I can't picture what he looks like and I have lived my whole life without knowing to fear him. So I don't think you have to worry about that."

Lupin let out a relieved sigh. After a short silence he spoke up again. "You know, Harry. I was a good friend of your parents, especially your father." At this Harry looked up, surprise showing on his face as Lupin kept talking. "We went to school together, we were both in Gryffindor. Me, James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew."

"Sirius Black?" Harry asked, his curiosity piqued even higher. "You know my godfather too?" And this Pettigrew as well it seemed.

"Indeed I did. I'm surprised you know he is your godfather. We four were called the marauders and were quite the famous pranksters in our time. Well, Sirius and James were, I was the voice of reason trying to stop them from doing anything too serious," Lupin said with a hint of sadness but also without suppressing a mischievous smile, causing Harry to doubt the Professors part in the pranks. "And Peter was always following along." The Professors eyes were gazing off in the distance as he seemed to dream himself back to the past. With a jerk he focused back on Harry. "Harry, out of curiosity, would you happen to know what your biggest fear is?"

Harry, who had been trying to follow Lupin back to the time were his parents lived took a moment to register the question. "I'm not sure, Professor, I think it might that Dementor on the train, it brought up unpleasant memories in me." He answered doubtfully, a little ashamed of himself.

"It is nothing to ashamed of, Harry." Lupin answered comfortingly. "What you fear is fear itself. A very reasonable fear if you ask me."

"But how can I fight them? Why didn't the spell work for me but when you did it you were able to chase off it completely? Next time, you might not be there. I don't want that to happen again." Harry didn't notice how fast he was talking.

"Calm down, Harry. It is an exceptionally hard spell to cast, albeit a useful one. If you'd like, I could teach it to you." Lupin offered.

"Yes please, Professor." Harry answered eager to learn how to fight one of those horrible creatures. Maybe he could do this instead of Divination with Treblowney.

"Great, now I think you should hurry, or you won't have time to eat before your next class."

"Yes, Professor. Thank you, Professor." Harry said happily as he half ran half jumped to the Great Hall. Next was their first class with Hagrid. Care of Magical Creatures. He quickly gulped down his lunch and hurriedly made his way down to the grounds were the class was just starting.

As he got there he saw the whole class back away a little from Hagrid and, what was that? It was like a horse but with the front legs and body of an eagle. "What's going on?" He asked the others as he made his way to the front with a slightly distressed Hagrid.

"So the great Harry Potter has finally graced us with his presence, maybe he can show us how to tame the beast." came a drawl from the crowd. Harry instantly knew it to be Malfoy but before he could answer Hagrid grabbed and dragged him to stand in front of the animal.

"Not a bad idea, Malfoy," he said loudly and then whispered to Harry, "No need worry Harry, jus' do as I say and yeh won' get hurt." Harry was close to panicking but he would never forgive himself if he did it in front of Malfoy. As he looked back at the crowd staring at him with terrifying eyes, the first thing he saw was Lavender and Parvati silently mouth to each other, "_Trelawney predicted this_." Great, he thought and then he got sight of Daphne, a slightly worried frown on her face as she looked at the animal. Could it be she was actually worried about him? If only slightly, it was enough to make Harry regain his courage. He wasn't going to make a fool of himself in front of her and so he nodded to Hagrid who gave a huge sigh of relief.

"Right then," Hagrid began, "firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is, they're proud. Easily offended, they are. So don't never insult one, or som'one'll get hurt. This one is called Buckbeak." Hagrid gestured to the Hippogriff next to him. "To get to know a Hippogriff yeh have ter wait fer the Hippogriff ter make the firs' move. It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, and yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If not, then get away from him quickly, those talons aren' any fun to play with."

That didn't sound too hard, so Harry took a few steps toward the Hippogriff and bowed. "That's right, Harry," Hagrid exclaimed happily. "Don' lose eye contact and bow jus' a lil' lower, a lil' lower, now wait fer him ter bow back." Harry did as told and just as Hagrid said, a few seconds later Buckbeack made a gesture that unmistakably was a bow and Harry inwardly made a relieved sigh. "Great Harry, now you can touch'im." Hagrid beamed. Harry took a few steps forward and started stroking Buckbeaks beak. Buckbeak seemed to enjoy and once Harry got used to it he found that it was actually quite nice. "He'll prob'ly let you fly him now, Harry." Hagrid said.

"What?" Harry's head snapped but before he was able to say anything else Hagrid had hoisted him onto the Hippogriff's back.

"Don' pull any feathers out, he won' like that." Hagrid warned as he slapped the Buckbeaks back, causing the Hippogriff to take off. _How can I not pull any feathers? There is nothing to hold except feathers!_ Now was the time for panic, Harry decided to try to reach his arms around Buckbeaks thick neck and while it wasn't optimal, it at least held him in place. Although, it actually was quite fun to fly on the Hippogriff, he decided that he much preferred to ride on a broom. Buckbeak flew in a wide circle over the class and then went back for the landing at Hagrid's whistle. A landing that would be much smoother on a broom, Harry thought as he rubbed his behind and the class, except Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, cheered. Even Daphne wore a little smile.

"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid laughed. "Ten points fer Gryffindor fer yer bravery. Now, who else wanna try?" Hagrid asked the class. The class was quite eager now after seeing Harry do it and survive. If the boy with the death omen can do it, then we should be able to as well. Harry smiled, happy for Hagrid's sake that his first class was a success.

Hagrid had released the other Hippogriffs and now a third of the class had started bowing to each of their own Hippogriffs while the others were waiting for their turn. Daphne was bowing to Buckbeak and the Hippogriff bowed back quite quickly, allowing her to step forward and stroke his beak.

"I knew it wasn't as hard as that oaf made it out to be," Malfoy drawled on, waiting for his turn with Buckbeak. "I bet this beast is probably the mildest one out of all of you, aren't you, you great ugly brute?" Harry saw Buckbeaks talons flash and reacted instantly, they weren't going for Malfoy but for Daphne, as she was standing right next to Buckbeak. Harry tackled Daphne out of the way and felt the talons draw a long gash over his back before he faded into darkness.

.

Daphne looked horrifyingly on as Harry got a deep and long gash across his back. The blood started flowing and Buckbeak was in an uproar, recognizing that he had injured Harry. Hagrid was forced to wrestle Buckbeack back to his post and fastened him.

"Would you look at that?" Malfoy drawled on. "Potter just saved you." He looked calmly at Daphne. "I wonder why he would do that."

"Oh, shut it you git." Daphne shot back at him. "If you weren't so stupid to insult the Hippogriff this wouldn't have happened. You should be punished." Her silver-gray eyes were clear as day, almost shining. Nobody in her class, except Tracey, had seen her this upset before. She had always been cold and serious but now her façade was broken and it was frightening. Malfoy, paling in front of her glare, took a few steps back and brought out his wand. He had no intent to attack. Only to defend, but magic couldn't defend against Daphne's glare which was the only thing attacking him.

As she saw the frightened little git taking out his wand, she simply turned around, back to Harry as he was carried away by Hagrid. "Class is over," Hagrid said, his dialect lost. "Homework is to read how Merlin met his hippogriff familiar. Now hurry off, you have better things to do than wasting time here." At this, the whole class departed. The Slytherins to the dungeons and the Gryffindors to their tower. However, Daphne, Ron and Hermione didn't head off to their respective common rooms, instead Ron and Hermione followed Hagrid to the infirmary and Daphne headed off to find her sister in her Transfiguration class. Astoria has taken a liking to Harry, she has a right to know what happened so that she can visit him in the infirmary, Daphne explained to herself as she knocked on the door to Professor McGonagall's classroom.

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Harry woke up in the infirmary. Next to him Astoria was humming while reading one of her textbooks, occasionally making a note. "Hi Tori," he said with a smile. She gasped and dropped the book she was reading.

"Wait here," she commanded and then hurried off. _As if I could leave_, Harry thought as he felt around his body, every movement sent a sharp pang of pain up his back. _Waiting here sounds good._ A short while later she came back with Madam Poppy Pomfrey.

"You looking to put your name on a bed here, Mr. Potter?" The nurse asked pointedly and before Harry could answer, she continued. "How is your back feeling?"

"I can't move without it hurting."

"Good. Then I won't have to worry about you running off before you are well." She eyed Astoria suspiciously. "You do know that little Ms. Greengrass here have been sitting at your bed day in and day out since you arrived? She has made the area around your bed into a study room, bringing all her homework here, even having her sister coming here to help her with homework. Now, I expect you to recover nice and fine in a day or two, if only to have your sister leave the infirmary so I can have some peace." At this Harry raised an eyebrow and Astoria blushed.

"Madam Pomfrey is surprisingly good at Transfiguration, not to mention her knowledge in Potions." Astoria whispered to Harry. At this Madam Pomfrey simply grunted and tried to hide her smile as she walked away from the siblings.

"How long was I out?" Harry asked, remembering that Poppy had said 'day in and day out'.

"Five days." Astoria answered, causing Harry to groan.

"Ron and Hermione?"

"They were here the first day, but when Weasley tried to chase me and Daph away from you Madam Pomfrey banned him from entering. She stopped him just as he brought out his wand, which I think was lucky, since I don't want my sister to get detention for hexing him." Harry grunted, really, Ron would have to get over it. "Hermione Granger came to visit once more, afterwards, but hasn't been here since."

"You… and Daphne?" Harry asked, a little shyly, causing Astoria to smile.

"Daph comes here once in a while to help me with my homework, or so she says." Astoria said with a knowing smile ornamenting her face which Harry, if he wasn't in the middle of it, would have been able to understand what it meant. Instead, Harry simply assumed that Daphne really did visit only to help Astoria with her homework.

.

After three days Harry was up and running again, healthy as ever. As he was on his way down from Gryffindor tower, after getting a change of clothes, he met Professor McGonagall.

"Good evening, Professor." He greeted her.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter," she greeted him back, "I see you are healthy again. Then I take it you won't have a problem meeting with me after dinner?" At this Harry nodded. "Good. See you in my office then."

As Harry made for the Gryffindor table he saw Ron and Hermione sitting on an end. He went there to join them.

"Hello mates." He greeted them while taking a seat opposite them, causing them to look up from their plates.

"Hi Harry," they both answered in unison. "I see you are back. We're sorry we couldn't visit you, but we were banned from the hospital wing." Weird, Harry thought, wasn't it only Ron who was banned? But he chose to ignore it, too tired to bring it up. Instead he turned to Ron.

"I heard. Ron, I am warning you three times. Either you get over me getting a new family with two members from Slytherin or I won't be able to stay friends with you." At this, both Ron's and Hermione's eyes widened. Twice now you have made trouble because of it and I won't stand it being a third time."

"I am only trying to help," Ron's voice answered weakly, "Harry, you don't understand, they are manipulating you, they are…" his voice faltered under Harry's stare and he simply nodded, finally understanding the seriousness in Harry's words.

"Good." Harry concluded. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, and when they finished Harry excused himself. The three friends were slowly but surely sliding apart.

"Got a meeting with Professor McGonagall." And headed for the Professor's office. As he entered her office he was surprised. Celia and Zadoc were there, as was Professor Lupin. Harry's head started to spin. What was happening?

"Good evening, Mr. Potter," McGonagall started and pointed to the couch. "Take a seat." He did as told and McGonagall sorted some papers while the Greengrasses exchanged a few pleasantries with their newly adopted son.

"Now, let's get to business." McGonagall announced. "Harry, as you know, Dumbledore has held this will that brought you and your new foster parents together hidden for a long time."

"If he hadn't, you would have been able to grow up in a loving family and not with those horrible relatives of yours." Celia added, ice burning in her cold silver eyes.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and continued. "Yes, indeed. As for the reasons why he kept it hidden, we do not know. However, we also feel that this is not the time to confront him about it. We do not completely know to what extent he has meddled in your life and therefore more investigation is required. But for now the plan is for you to simply avoid him and his meddling." Harry nodded as he understood what this meeting was about.

"If he gives you trouble, be sure to contact us as soon as possible." Zadoc said with his reassuring voice. "We are dealing with one of the world's strongest and most respected wizards after all. Caution is our biggest virtue." He then moved on to the next matter. "Now, the next thing we want to focus on is the dreams you have been having about Sirius Black." At this Professor Lupin started.

"You have dreams about Sirius?" Harry nodded. "Was that what you were referring to when you said that you knew to use the patronus against the dementor from a dream?" Harry nodded again while his new parents were both surprised.

"Harry faced against a dementor?" Celia asked, her anger flaring up.

"Tell. Us. Everything." Zadoc demanded. And so it happened that Harry told them all, Professor McGonagall, Professor Lupin, Celia and Zadoc all of his dreams about Sirius from the first one to the latest one. It was Lupin who was the first to react.

"He's innocent." He stated, making the others give him weird looks so he explained himself. "Sirius was sentenced to prison seemingly after killing Pettigrew and thirteen muggles, but if Pettigrew is still alive and Sirius is searching for him, then that means that Sirius didn't betray your parents, Harry. This is good news!" Lupin was now smiling widely and explained the whole situation. He had done some investigation into the case before and there were several holes in the ministry's investigation and the evidence seemed insufficient to judge Sirius Black without a trial. They had not even checked his wand for the spells he was judged for.

Zadoc simply nodded at the news. "I thought it was weird that he never got a real trial. Now we only need to find him so that we can clear his name."

"Judging by Harry's dreams he is close to Hogwarts," Celia pointed out. "If I would guess he is in the forbidden forest. Probably in his animagus form."

"We also know how he got past the dementors," McGonagall added. "Apparently they didn't notice him while in his animagus form, but something changed that, judging from Harry's dream."

"So I will be able to meet with my godfather?" Harry asked, feeling a smile creeping up on him. This man was supposedly his father's best friend. Even a better friend than Professor Lupin was.

"Yes, Harry." Celia smiled back. "If all goes well, you will be able to meet your godfather." There were tears in her eyes, she had also been friends with Sirius, even if she wasn't as close with him as with James and Lily.

"Now then, to move on to our last topic," Professor McGonagall continued. "Mr. Potter, I hear you have some problems with Divination?" She gave him a pointed look, making him cower a little.

"Yes, Professor Trelawney predicted my death," he said, his voice getting stronger while speaking, "honestly, I think the class is a load of vague crap. Who can predict the future through some tealeaves? Really, I think I have much better things to spend my time on." He looked at Professor Lupin who winked at him and then at Professor McGonagall who, to his surprise, wore a smile.

"I couldn't agree more, Mr. Potter." She stated with a smile causing Harry to open and close his mouth in shock. "I heard from Mrs. Greengrass here that you have an affinity with fire. And I also heard that you will go through some extra training with Professor Lupin here." Harry nodded. "Great, then we will exchange Divination in your timetable with extra-classes with me and Professor Lupin."

"A-awesome." Was all that Harry could say, causing both of his foster parents to snigger.

"I wouldn't be so sure to say that Mr. Potter." McGonagall answered him. "It will be hard work, and I won't accept any slacking off on your part. Especially not since you have two Professors teaching just one student. It is nearly unheard of. Have I made myself understood?" She gave him a level look, making him gulp before answering.

"Yes, Professor."

"Good, now jump along, I think Mrs. Greengrass would like to have some words with you in private."

Harry, curious followed Celia out of Professor McGonagall's office and into a nearby empty classroom. Inside the classroom were Daphne and Astoria, deep in conversation until they were interrupted by Harry and Celia walking through the door. When she saw him, Daphne gave him a look with a mix of an icy glare, guilt, thankfulness and happiness. Harry had no idea how he should interpret it and so he simply didn't, thinking it to be the easiest choice.

"Mum!" They exclaimed and hurried over to hug her. After some serious hugging and exchanging a few pleasantries however, Celia put on a serious tone.

"Now, it has come to my attention that you have not been spending time with each other as I told you to do before you left for Hogwarts." She stated sternly. "You do understand why I am telling you to this?" She sighed at Harry's and Daphne's blank faces. "You are siblings now, and I want you to get used to the idea, sooner rather than later, so that we can become one big happy family. I don't want any of that awkwardness during Christmas break." She said the last with a snap and then continued, to their horror. "I have come to an agreement with Professor McGonagall, who by the way was very nice to help me in this, that you three will meet here in this classroom every Saturday and Wednesday evening for at least an hour starting at the latest seven o'clock. You will report to Professor McGonagall before you enter and before you leave. She has promised me to keep an eye on you so there is no escaping. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," they answered in unison, only Astoria being cheerful. They were trapped and they knew it.

.

Harry was lying in bed thinking about the meetings that Celia and Professor McGonagall would make sure happened every Saturday and Wednesday. He didn't mind them, really, if it wasn't for Daphne being so cold to him. He got along really well with Astoria so that would be a bonus but if only he could somehow break through that ice wall that Daphne had around her. Oh well, he sighed, getting ready to fall asleep. It never crossed his mind that tomorrow would be Saturday.

.

**AN:** Thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it. The story is following a pretty similar line to the original storyline as you have noticed but now is sort of a turning point. Again, if any part is weird, confusing or if you simply see a mistake, do not hesitate to tell me! Practice makes perfect! Thank you for reading and please review!

P.S. For the next two weeks I will have to focus on studying so there won't be many updates. Maybe one or two 2000-words chapters a week, but even that is doubtful. Just thought I should give you a headsup!


	6. Chapter 6

HP FP chapter 6

**AN:** I have edited the last few chapters a little bit according to some of your magnificent reviews and suggestions and will probably edit more as I go along. Keep them coming!

As some of my wonderful readers have pointed out to me I have neglected mentioning at least two things in my story so I would like to clear up the matter on them here.  
>1. Harry never blew up Vernon's sister in my storyline. Instead Harry simply endured the time the cow spent at the Dursleys as usual. (I will put this in the first chapter as well but lets leave it here for a while)<br>2. A very observant reader noticed that Harry never went to Diagon Alley to get his stuff for the year. My answer to this is that Harry managed to negotiate going there in exchange for doing extra-much work around the house. You know, repainting the walls, cleaning the windows, that kind of stuff while still keeping up with his normal duties. (This will be edited into first chapter)  
>Thank you for giving me these pointers and you are more than welcome to share with me any other points you find that I missed or should add.<p>

This chapter (almost 3k words) was pretty fun to write and I hope you will enjoy reading it!

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Harry was extremely nervous as he waited in the classroom next to McGonagall's office. He had already reported in with no small amount of embarrassment, a fact that seemed to amuse the professor to no end. It was half past six and he was waiting for Daphne and Astoria while pondering on what to talk about. What could he possibly use to break the ice? Maybe they liked Quidditch. You could never talk enough about quidditch. He was racking his brain, trying to remember if Daphne was especially good at any specific subjects, when the door opened, letting in Daphne and Astoria. As they arrived, an hourglass appeared over the door and the fine sand inside of it started to trickle from the top to the bottom, signaling the beginning of the hour they would have to spend there.

"Hi, Daphne. Hi, Astoria." Harry greeted them, unsure of himself.

"Hi, Harry." They answered, Daphne barely sparing a glance for him before she got to a table not too far from Harry.

Both Daphne and Astoria had brought several books, paper and quills with them. Harry gave Astoria a questioning look and she just raised her shoulders and shrugged back. Meanwhile, Daphne was setting up her things and opened a potion's book, searching for the right page number.

"Uhm," Daphne looked up as Harry interrupted her studying, "aren't we supposed to be talking? You know, getting to know each other and all that stuff?" He was still very unsure what to do and he felt slightly hurt that she had brought her homework to this hour. Astoria, who had also brought her homework, didn't get the same attention Daphne. But she knew that she and Harry had already grown rather close, so she let it slide. Despite, she rather enjoyed their awkwardness (mostly Harry's awkwardness), even if she thought that Daphne was a bit too close-minded about Harry. It was Daphne who spoke after several minutes of simply locking eyes with Harry. No glaring, a pleasant surprise for Harry's side.

"Thank you," She said, surprising both Harry and Astoria. "For saving me when Malfoy insulted Buckbeak and I am sorry you had to get hurt." She continued as realization dawned on their faces. "What?" She looked around, her eyes widening a little at their reactions. "You thought I wouldn't be grateful? I'm not _that_ cold."

Astoria chuckled a little, earning her a small glare from Daphne, and Harry shook his head. Maybe her attitude towards him wasn't so bad after all, Harry thought with a smile.

"No problem," he said, causing her gaze to return to him. _Merlin, those eyes are distracting. Beautiful, very much so, but distracting as well._ "I am happy I could help, and thank you for visiting me, even if you didn't want to." Daphne looked away, a little embarrassed, but nodded after a short while and returned to her homework.

"I'm guessing you aren't exactly ahead in your work, with you being in the infirmary for five days." She began after a few minutes. "If you'd want, I could help you catch up?" _I owe him that much at least, _she thought, it was the reason she had brought her books with her after all_._

Harry, being happy that Daphne wasn't just going to stay quiet and study on her own for the whole hour, gladly accepted the offer. He knew that it wasn't the best case scenario but it wasn't the worst case either. At least he could get to know her better this way and maybe they could even be friends, he mused as he drew up a chair next to Daphne and she started to explain what he had missed during his days in the infirmary. He soon noticed that she had made her notes very clear and extensive, showing that a lot of work had been put into them, causing him to wonder if her notes always were this extensive or if she had actually planned on helping him. Either way, he appreciated it.

Astoria was looking over her transfiguration essay as she smiled at her two siblings. It had taken her sister almost fifteen minutes to offer to help Harry catch up in his schoolwork. It was nice to see them opening up to each other. Like two people softly dancing around each other trying to reach out but with several mental obstacles blocking their way. Harry, with his open-minded straightforward attitude, trying to break straight through the barriers while Daphne, in her graceful and sometimes cold ways, trying to find a way around them. They made an odd pair, but it somehow felt right. Astoria was so lost in her world of metaphors and dances that she almost missed when all the sand in the hourglass ran out. Harry was listening intently to Daphne as she explained about the Boggart in their DADA class. They hadn't noticed the hourglass and Astoria was not planning on pointing it out to them. Instead she snuck out the door as quietly as she could and went to Professor McGonagall's office. When the professor saw that it was only Astoria who had come to report in after the hour she was a little surprised and raised an eyebrow to the young girl.

"I hope you don't mind my siblings exceeding the hour-limit, Professor? If I recall correctly there was a minimum limit but no maximum." Astoria commented smartly in response to the obvious question hanging in the air to which the professor simply responded with a smile and then motioned for Astoria to go back to her dorms. As Astoria made her way to the Ravenclaw common rooms she inwardly made a note to herself to bring a friend. She didn't mind watching her siblings tread around in their careful dance but if it took much longer she would get bored and do something to force them together. Not saying that she wouldn't do it that way even if she brought a friend to the next meeting. Astoria Greengrass had many talents, this she knew, but patience was not one of them.

.

Daphne and Harry were still sitting in the classroom after Astoria left. According to Harry, Daphne was an excellent teacher. Her notes were clean and easy to understand, she was patient and anything he had trouble with grasping she didn't mind going through step by step until he got it. Also, it didn't hurt that Harry's full attention was on her and he absorbed everything she said as if his life depended on it. Daphne was not very used to having so much attention from a boy. She knew that she was perceived as attractive and beautiful by boys, but also as cold and unapproachable. It was always Tracey of the two of them who got the most attention from the boys. Tracey was fun, cheerful and had a more homely and warm beauty compared to Daphne's cold one. Daphne didn't really mind it being the way it was and it was a completely new experience having someone pay their full on attention on her. She decided that she liked it. Little did she realize that her attention was almost as much on Potter as his seemed to be on her.

Soon they left the topic of homework and ventured off into other topics, such as their housemates and a little bit of Quidditch as well. In the beginning of the meeting today Harry thought Daphne was pretty cold and sometimes she even implied insults but soon he learned that there was actually a bit of sarcasm showing now and then from the famous Ice Queen of Slytherin. It was just that she was able to keep such a straight face while saying anything sarcastic that nobody even would notice it for what it was, add to that her silver eyes and generally cold demeanor and you get the Ice Queen of Slytherin. As Harry thought more about this he realized that this could be seen as the supreme prank surpassing anything the Weasley twins had done. Daphne had ultimately fooled the whole school into misinterpreting her personality for three whole years. He began to wonder what the Weasley twins would do to try to surpass it if he told them and didn't notice that nothing had been said for the last few moments. However, it seemed that Daphne hadn't noticed either and they were both busy gazing into each other's eyes as they heard someone clearing their throat behind them. Embarrassed they looked up to see Professor McGonagall peering down at them with an amused glint in her eyes. Not until now did they notice that Astoria had already left them and that the hourglass had long ago run out of sand.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Greengrass," She acknowledged both of them. "I trust that I don't need to remind you that curfew is in half an hour?" At their surprised gasps she almost showed off a smile. Almost. "Well then, off you go. I believe that Potter will escort Ms. Greengrass here to her common room before he gracefully walks back to his." She dismissed them and they quickly gathered their stuff, their embarrassment growing with every passing second. Well, Harry helped Daphne gather her stuff. It wasn't more than his duty since she had helped him catch up on his homework. "Oh, and Potter," the Transfiguration professor called out just before they exited the classroom. "I look forward to seeing you on Monday for your first special training with me and Professor Lupin."

"Yes, Professor," Harry replied humbly, although inside he was bubbling with expectations for the extra class instead of Divination. Beside him Daphne gave him a curious but didn't raise any question. She would know in time. Instead, they made their way down to the Slytherin common room in silence. Both a little embarrassed that they had completely missed when the hour was out. As they reached the entrance to Slytherin's common room Harry had recovered some of his embarrassment and gained a little courage. The result of this was that he gave Daphne a graceful bow and muttered a 'My Lady', causing her to showcase her perfect teeth in a rare smile as he backed away and finally turned to walk up the stairs to his own common room, his face red with embarrassment but also a little proud of his daring gesture.

As Harry was on his way to his common room his mind was racing back and forth in order to understand what had just happened. They had just spent more than two hours talking without noticing how much time had gone. They didn't even notice that Astoria left, although Harry did feel a little bad about that, but surely it must be a good sign that he was able to speak so easily and for such a long time with Daphne. Now that he thinks about it, he couldn't really remember what they had spoken about. He thought they had talked a little bit about Quidditch, but that was about all he remembered. He could remember her eyes though. How they shifted from crystal clear to ambiguous and sometimes a thin mist seemed to emerge only to quickly disappear again. Now he was losing focus from his original troubles again. What did this meeting mean for him and Daphne? Maybe she only helped him because he saved her. When they were walking down to the Slytherin common room she hadn't looked at him, not even mentioning saying anything, but neither had he. Did she regret that they had forgotten the time in the classroom? Maybe she was just shy. In the end Harry came to the conclusion that girls were too hard to understand for him to even try. At least, he thought as he entered the Gryffindor common room, she had smiled at him in the end so it couldn't be that bad. He kept the picture of Daphne smiling while making his way to his dorm.

"What do you think this is, my dear George?" A loud voice interrupted Harry's thoughts and as he turned around he saw the Weasley twins walking towards him. Otherwise the common room was mostly empty.

"I don't know, my most handsome brother." The other twin answered, presumably George.

"He didn't even notice when we called out to him at first."

"Maybe he was coming back from detention with Snape. I know my mind could wander off thinking about what to do to our favorite potions teacher."

"While a truly valid and valiant cause, dear brother, I would not think you would wear the look of bliss our dear Harry wore a few moments ago."

"I imagine that I could look pretty happy while thinking of how to prank Snivellus." George pondered, getting a slightly dark look in his eyes.

"While I do not doubt that," Fred answered after also he had stopped to ponder a little. "I think our little hero is coming back from a meeting with a damsel."

"Oh no, this late at night?" George feigned shock.

"What would mother say?" Fred shook his head in disappointment to Harry's amusement.

"You should know that Daphne is much better at pranking than you two combined." Harry interrupted their teasing. This time they didn't have to feign shock. As they recovered from their shock Fred, or Harry thought it was Fred, narrowed his eyes.

"What are you implying?" He asked suspiciously. "Tell us."

Harry, seeing there was no turning back and was also deeply interested in what the twins would do to reclaim their throne started to explain how the whole school was, and still is, fooled by Daphne's appearance and demeanor. When he was done the brothers both wore wicked grins.

"Are you thinking what I am thinking, brother o' mine?" One of them asked, Harry had given up on guessing which one it was.

"I think I can recognize a challenge when I see one, brother o' mine." The other replied.

"To the lab!" The first one bellowed.

"Lead the way oh Great Brother!" The other one answered as they hurried towards their dorm. Just before they were out of sight one of them turned around.

"Oh Harry, before we forget. The original reason we called out to you was because Wood wants to start Quidditch practice next week! Well then, as you can see, we are very busy right now. See you!" Then they were gone, leaving Harry to walk to his own dorm, happy that soon he could play Quidditch again.

.

As soon as she entered the Slytherin common room Daphne mentally kicked herself. She had told herself that Harry Potter was dangerous and despite that she had forgotten all about time and partially let down her guard around him. She had been completely drawn into the situation. He had even seen through her Ice Queen demeanor and gotten to her sarcasm, something that only the people in her closest circle knew about. She didn't want to be friends with him, yet he made it so difficult. Not to mention his courageous yet embarrassing and clumsy bow at the end. She could barely keep from laughing and he seemed to be so proud of it. How could such a nice and sweet young boy be the victim of so many bad things and have such bad friends such as Ronald Weasley? She was actually starting to question her original attitude towards the boy before she saw Tracey sitting in one of the couches she was passing, smiling expectantly at her, despite knowing that it irritated her. On second thought, it was probably because it irritated her that Tracey did it. Sighing she went to sit next to her.

"So?" Tracey's voice was full of implications, causing Daphne to roll her eyes. "How did the meeting with Loverboy go? I see you passed the hour mark some time ago."

"Harry Potter is not my Loverboy." Daphne said persistently, only causing Tracey's smile to widen. "I helped him with his homework since I felt guilty about him getting hurt because of me. And there was a lot to help him with, that's all." At this Tracey started wiggling her eyebrows and Daphne fought hard to refrain from laughing. Wouldn't be good to draw too much attention when talking about Potter, especially not while in the Snakes nest. "Now, if you don't mind I am feeling quite tired and am heading for bed.

Tracey knew that it didn't really matter how much Daphne denied it, to herself, to Tracey or to anyone else. Tracey would always be able to read her as a book, she thought as she followed Daphne to girl's dormitory, yawning widely.

As they left the Slytherin common room another boy with blonde slick hair in the same year stood up. He had been lying in a couch with its back to them and taken a nap until he woke up from hearing them talking. He did not like what he heard.

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**AN:** Now there is a real cliffhanger for you! Not much happened in terms of action in this chapter but I hope you can appreciate the importance of it nevertheless. It was a pretty fun chapter to write and it helped me explore the characters more and I hope it will help you in understanding them more. If I have missed something or you think I should add something you are more than welcome to point it out. Thank you for reading and for giving me excellent pointers!


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** Now this is a very short chapter indeed. I have been really busy with studying and had to do something for a break to clear my mind before I go to sleep and so this chapter happened. I feel like I will be dreaming about how Nixon's visit to China changed the world and I would much rather dream about my fanfiction instead. It is enough to have Nixon in my head while awake! I know it is short but I hope you can enjoy it!

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><p>HP FP Chapter 7<p>

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall greeted Harry as he walked into the classroom. It was the classroom close to McGonagall's office where just a few days earlier he had had a meeting with Daphne and Astoria. Since then he couldn't stop thinking about Daphne. He was still confused about where they stood in relation to each other, but somehow he liked it. At least she didn't really seem to hate him anymore. He was lost in thoughts until someone cleared their throat loudly. That's when he realized where he was and his dreamlike feeling quickly turned into excitement as he remembered why he was where he was. While the rest of his class had Divination he was here having his special class. As he approached Professor McGonagall he noticed that the classroom had been a little renovated. The benches had been cleared to make a big circle of open area in the middle. However, what surprised Harry was not the open space but what was located in the middle of the classroom. In the middle there was a ring filled with water and a small island-like space in the middle with a mattress on it.

"I have a special affinity with water," She answered his question before it had finished forming in his head. "While you learn how to control your ability I will, at the same time, use mine to make sure that you don't damage anything. If you are anything like your father I know we will need it." She added with a sniff.

"That sounds really good, Professor," Harry replied, excited as to what this might mean. "It feels good to know that we will be safe, I really have no idea how this power works." He didn't really try to hide that he was bustling with curiosity when he thought of seeing her protect the room from his powers.

"That's why you are here. Now, let us get started." She motioned to the middle of the ring of water. "Take off your clothes and sit." She ordered and Harry, more than a little embarrassed to stand before the professor in only his underwear, did as told, carefully stepping over the water and sat down in the middle with his legs crossed. McGonagall sat down opposite him in the same position and started explaining. Harry could feel his heartbeat rising, partly because of the excitement of what he was going to learn and partly because he was worried that she would tell him to take off his underwear as well. "Good," Harry let out a slight relief to the amusement of the professor as she continued. "The first step in learning to control your element is to be able to feel it. To do this you will meditate and learn the shape and feel of your magical core. This will take time, weeks, perhaps months, do you understand?" At this Harry nodded. "Good. Now, let's get started on the practice. Close your eyes," she began to instruct him. "Now, try to look into yourselves, your magical core is located deep inside of your stomach. Try to visualize it, picture it as a fire burning inside of you, feel the warmth of it and let it spread through you."

Harry did as told and searched inside of him. He didn't know how long it took but finally he found some sort of glowing ball, he tried to mold it into a fire and after a lot of effort it turned into a blue flame. He could feel it's warmth as he tried to force it to spread throughout his body. It took him several minutes until he finally managed to move it, to one arm and then it disappeared. Frowning, he opened his eyes to find Professor McGonagall in the same position as she had been before he closed his eyes, not showing any sign that she had moved since. Her stern eyes showed slight disapproval as she met his eyes and in response he quickly shut them close again.

"Good, now do it again."

And so, he did as told, repeating the procedure until the hour ran out. It did get easier to find his magical core and mold it into the blue flame but whenever he tried to spread it throughout his body he mostly just lost connection, and the seldom times he did manage to spread it, he only managed to feel it in one of his limbs and after a moment it was gone and he had to restart. He had no idea how long he had been doing this until Professor McGonagall called for a stop. As he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was completely drenched with sweat, and starving.

"Well done Mr. Potter," She said as she stood up and started to walk for the door. "We will continue next lesson. Now it is time for a well deserved lunch." Before she had reached the door, however, Harry called out to her. An idea had hit him.

"Professor," He called as he hurried after her. "Do you also picture it that way, the magical core, as a flame I mean?" He talked so fast that he actually reminded Professor McGonagall of another Gryffindor who acted similarly when she was on the hunt for knowledge.

"As a matter of fact, I don't, Mr. Potter," She replied. "A very valid question, but no, whenever I work my element I imagine my magical core as a river, flowing through my body."

This made Harry stop and think for a moment before he carried on. "Professor, would it be possible, for me, to control water if I imagined it that way?" McGonagall could hear the hope hanging in his voice and it put a smile on her lips.

"Another valid question, but no. It is not possible. The important thing isn't really how you visualize your magical core, but that you feel it and can grasp it." She explained as they began to walk down the hall. "The trick about visualizing it as the form of your element is a way to help you grasp it and keep your focus to control it. You could start thinking of it as water, but you are still a pyromancer and it wouldn't change anything other than your focus and control. I for one, would think it to be very hard to control my water while thinking of my magical core as fire." This caused Harry to stop in his step and ponder, one could almost hear the gears in his head working. "Now, if you'll excuse me Mr. Potter, I would like to get to the Great Hall before lunch is over and I suggest you do the same, you do have afternoon classes and I am sure you don't want to be late to Potions with Proffessor Snape."

As an answer, Harry just nodded, too lost in thought to record what she just said as he slowly made his way down to the Great Hall.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it despite it being so short! You are welcome to review for either my request or anything else you would like to say. Anything and everything is appreciated!


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** Hi all! Thank you very much for your reviews and suggestions to what I should call the ones with elemental powers. The most frequent answer, as well as the one I liked the most, is to call them mancers. Basically:  
>fire - Pyromancer<br>Water - HydromancerAir - Aeromancer  
>Earth - Terramancer<p>

This chapter is not the longest one, neither is it the shortest one but then again, I still have a lot of school at least until Friday. After that you can probably expect longer chapters. Still, I hope you will enjoy the read!

Shoutout to DalkonCledwin for some awesome, observational and constructive reviews! You really catch onto the details! Thank you very much!

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><p>As Harry entered the Great Hall he quickly located Ron and Hermione sitting by the Gryffindor table. Cheerfully, he went over to them and sat down.<p>

"Hello," he said with a smile, he did have interesting news. He hadn't told Hermione and Ron about his pyromancy yet and thought that it would be exciting news. All they knew was that he had somehow been allowed to drop Divination and have some sort of private lesson with McGonagall and sometimes Lupin. All after a meeting where both professors along with the Greengrass parents had been present. However, instead of answering his happy greeting Hermione got up and left, murmuring some sort of excuse. Ron, not being finished with the mountain of chicken legs he had grabbed for his plate just turned his face away from Harry and pointedly ignored him.

Harry, his irritation increasing by Ron's behavior ever since they had left the Burrow up to this point was nearing a breaking point. During the last days they had barely spoken to each other, even though they were together, there had always been some sort of tension between them since the last confrontation and Harry was getting fed up with it. However, he couldn't bother fighting with Ron so instead he simply stood up and walked over to the twins who, although surprised by his actions, moved over so he could sit and started engaging him in a discussion about the approaching Quidditch game with Slytherin. Harry didn't notice the glare that got sent his way as Ron got up to leave for Potions with Snape, nor did he really care.

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"Well, well, well", Snape slowly drawled with a wicked grin on his face as he noticed the 'Golden Trio spread out, not one sitting with the other. "Breaking up, are we?" He asked sarcastically to the amusement of most of the Slytherins. He kept on teasing, seeing how the Weasley-boy and Granger got redder and redder, although for different reasons. However, Potter remained strangely calm, serious, darkly so, but calm. That was no fun at all. _Well_, he mused, _you can't have everything_. Weasley and Granger were amusing enough to satisfy his dark humor for at least today. Of course, he would by no means stop teasing them tomorrow, nor the day after. As long as this 'breakup' continued, he would make the most of it. Who knows, perhaps with some time that snot-nosed Potter would show some entertaining reaction as well.

.

_This year has been horrible._ Hermione had not had a good year at all so far. It had all started once she woke up from being petrified. Luckily, she had been able to hide it from Ron and Harry so far but she didn't think it was possible anymore. Ever since then, she has been hearing a soft voice talking to her, teaching her things she shouldn't know, implanting ideas she shouldn't have. What was happening to her? She sometimes got strange urges, sometimes they were dangerous urges that she knew should be bad, but honestly, she saw the logic of the voice, mostly. It was very pedagogical and she was always able to see the use for whatever she was taught. Occlumency, the ability to hide and protect one's mind and thoughts from others, being maybe one of the most useful things. She had spent hours in the library looking for answers as to what was happening to her, as well as looking up things the voice said. So far, she had not had any success in finding anything explaining her condition in any other way than claiming she was crazy. But she could safely rule that out of the picture, she thought.

Some nights she had snuck into the boys' dormitory and borrowed Harry's invisibility cloak and gone to the forbidden section. Somehow, the voice always knew exactly where the books she was searching for were.

No, it had not been a good year at all, and it definitely hadn't gotten any better after she got back to Hogwarts. Well, Hogwarts in itself was amazing and she loved it very much. There were so many things that she could and wanted to learn and she could learn it all here at Hogwarts. Well, a lot of it at least. Aside from all that, it had only gotten worse.

She had changed, a lot. She no longer really cared about Ron and saw him in a clearer light. He was a strong-headed manipulative twat is what he was. For two years she had allowed him to bully her and let him get his way in most all of their arguments, simply because he was one of her first real friends and didn't see their relationship for what it was. That would be one of the things to change this school year. He still thought he had his control over her, especially after she had stayed away from the infirmary as he was banned. However, that was because of a completely other reason. Now that she thought about it, maybe it wasn't a turn for the worse to flip the tables with Ron. Besides, Ron's relationship with Harry also seemed to be going down the drain. Harry probably thought she was on Ron's side in the argument by the way she had acted so far.

Harry. She thought she cared for him. He had never taken advantage of her like Ron but there was still something that was splitting them apart. The more she thought about it, the more she came to the conclusion that she had no idea what she felt about him. Sometimes she seemed to have extremely strong emotions for him, other times he might as well have been a mosquito buzzing around. Only time could tell what was going to happen.

As she felt someone tap her on the shoulder she was brought back to the present and looked at her neighbor, Neville, who simply stared at the person facing her and her not so excellent potion. In front of her long burnt potion, stood a tall thin man with a hooked and nose and greasy hair. Professor Severus Snape was looking down at her while jeering, obviously delighted that she had messed up her potion.

"So, Ms. Perfect can actually mess up as well," he taunted her mockingly. "Maybe you caught something from Longbottom here. Twenty points from Gryffindor and detention for spacing off in the middle of making your potion, if this had been something other than the Girding Potion this might have ended badly for not only you but the ones around you as well. I do not expect this to happen again, _Ms. Granger."_ He said the last with more than a little amount of venom and after she nodded nervously he quickly turned back to his desk, instructed them to clean up and dismissed them all.

Fuming at herself Hermione quickly took care of her materials and disposed of her miserable potion. She had never failed like this with a potion before. She did indeed have problems with the subject compared to others but nothing that couldn't be remedied by keeping her concentration and putting in a lot of hard work. Sour, she quickly walked out of the classroom before anyone else and returned to the thought patterns that had put her into trouble. She would go to her secret hideout. There she could read books in secret and practice whatever the voice taught her. She hurried off and was quickly out of sight from anyone who might think of following her.

.

Harry, curious as to what would make even the great Hermione lose focus during a class tried to catch up to Hermione but she had too much of a head start, and she wasn't in the Gryffindor common room. He was a little worried about her, she had seemed somehow distressed about something, but it was probably not really nothing to worry about. If he knew her right it was because of an assignment or something like it, and she was probably in the library or talking to one of the professors to fix it. It quickly slipped his mind however as he entered his dormitory and started preparing his things for the first Quidditch training of the school year. To say that he was excited would clearly be an understatement.

.

Harry woke up with an ache in his legs. He was still sore from the training from two days ago and wished for nothing more than to simply lie in his bed until the ache subsided completely. Wood had been even more enthusiastic than usual and driven them hard. Not even the twins had the energy to joke around at the end of the training. When they had finally gotten back into the changing room, muddy and sweaty there had been more than one muttering or swearing directed towards Wood and that they skipped the summer training he had given them all. Wood however, ignored them and proceeded to his famous speech about the new school year and that this time they would definitely win. After all, it was his last chance. He stood tall and strong as if he still could go on for several hours and they didn't doubt for a second that he had trained during the summer, probably setting a harder training program for himself than any of the ones he had given them. Harry actually admired him quite a bit. Wood, was well and completely his own person. He didn't care what anybody else said or thought about him, and he was probably respected by many for that very reason. If Harry could become such a person in the future, he wouldn't mind that at all.

While Harry forced his way alone down to the Great Hall for breakfast he thought about the previous days. He had barely spoken a word to his former friends since that lunch two days ago. _Huh, I already think of them as my former friends._ The days had gone by slowly, but they had gone by at least. Now, it seemed, he was basically alone. He had no close friends anymore, the Golden Trio was no more and everything seemed to have gone downhill for The Boy Who Lived. He didn't really know why Hermione had stopped talking to him. He knew that Ron was a big influence on her but he never thought it was that big. It saddened him that she had almost completely left him after the rift between him and Ron had opened up. He did think they weren't friends just because he and Ron were friends, but maybe he was wrong.

As Harry stumbled into the Great Hall he saw Daphne at the Slytherin table, she held his tired gaze for a few seconds, gave a short wave and then turned to her friend Tracey who was looking at him while wearing an amused smile. A certain blonde boy had however not missed the gesture and quickly made a mental note of it, adding it to his future plans.

Harry, feeling a little warmer and brighter looked over to the Ravenclaw table to see if he saw Astoria, it was hard to miss her. She was sitting next to some dreamy-looking blonde girl, a second year if Harry's memory served him right. Astoria was almost roaring with laughter, while the blonde girl was seemingly oblivious to what was so funny, and as she saw Harry she brightened up even more, gave him a wide smile and a wink.

Feeling even warmer, Harry sat down to enjoy his breakfast, thinking that today was Wednesday meaning that today he would get to meet Daphne and Astoria in that classroom next to McGonagall's office again. He was oblivious to the almost fiery glow he was giving out until someone cleared her throat behind him.

"Mr. Potter," the old professor's voice was a strained whisper only meant for Harry's ears. "Need I remind you to not use your pyromancy in public locations such as the Great Hall? You will have your training in half an hour. Until then, I ask that you restrain yourself from practicing." Then she walked off to the teachers table, not even sparing a glance for him. As soon as she was gone he felt as if someone had expertly and swiftly spread a thin layer of water all over his body. It wasn't enough water for his clothes to become wet, just enough to cool him and for his skin to become a little moist. Awed at how she had been able to do it so discreetly and seemingly easy, he nearly missed that the reason she had used her hydromancy was because he had nearly used his own pyromancy.

He spent some time pondering at how it had come so easily without him really trying to use it but all that happened was that he returned to thinking about Astoria and Daphne. Maybe it wasn't all that bad after all. He did have Astoria who was already like a sister to him, Celia and Zadoc who he wasn't completely comfortable with yet, but they were well on track on getting to know each other. Then there was Daphne. He didn't know where he had her really, but it seemed to be going in a positive direction. Maybe he could get some other new friends as well. People who were different from Ron, maybe different from Hermione as well, they didn't have to be in Gryffindor. Maybe he could get some friends in all houses. Cross the borders. _The houses are stupid anyways_.

For the first time ever since Harry entered Hogwarts, he actually regretted wishing to not be sorted into Slytherin. Then that regret quickly disappeared and turned into determination. No, it did not matter that he wasn't sorted into Slytherin, he would get friends from every house and it would be easier to do that from Gryffindor than from Slytherin.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> Hope you enjoyed it!

What do you think is up with Hermione? What is this voice and what is it teaching her and how is it changing her?

Now, an important question for Harry's power, how long do you think is reasonable for him to learn to actually use it at will? I am thinking weeks until he can call it out at will and months until he can actually use it reasonably well.

If you got any questions, opinions or anthing, don't hesitate to review! Anything and everything is appreciated and it is really exciting to read your reviews!


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** Hi! Finally a new chapter! School is also calming down so in my free time I will be able to dish out the chapters, they will get longer but it fit so perfectly with this length so I stopped here for this chapter. Hope you enjoy!

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><p>To Harry's relief, the day went by quickly and mostly without any hindrances. His session with McGonagall had been exhausting. As soon as he entered the classroom he began to meditate and he would like to think that he made progress, but honestly, he didn't notice any difference compared to the time before. <em>It seems I got to have patience with these kinds of things.<em> At least McGonagall hadn't seemed displeased and that was a good enough sign for him, for now at least.

He hadn't spoken with Ron and only said hi to Hermione in passing but he was starting to brighten up. He was more outspoken and he thought the other students had started to sense his change in attitude and were positive about it. Although, he hadn't really made any real new friends yet, he had started talking more to members of other houses.

He remembered with amusement the look on some of the Ravenclaw third year's faces in the library when he asked if it was alright for him to join their study section. They had been surprised, but welcomed him to join them as soon as they recovered. They had been a very nice group. Especially a called Terry Boot and Harry hit it off really well. What was the most surprising to Harry, however, was that he found Padma Patil to be an especially pleasant girl. Although she shared her almost identical looks to her sister Parvati, they were nothing alike in other aspects. Padma Patil was nice, incredibly smart and not a little witty. It was a stark contrast to Parvati who was obsessed with fashion, gossip and Divination. Her good looks only amplified her charm, Harry added a little guiltily as an 'afterthought' as he stepped into the classroom where he would meet Daphne and Astoria. Although he had studied with the Ravenclaws and it had been an extremely efficient study session, he had made sure to spare some homework so that, if nothing else worked, he could use it as an ice breaker with Daphne.

After a short wait, Daphne arrived. She too had brought some homework with her. Either she also was thinking of using it as an ice-breaker or she simply planned on spending the whole 'meeting' doing homework. Harry couldn't find any clue of her intentions in her demeanor. To his slight disappointment, he thought, she had reestablished her cold Ice Queen façade. They waited under awkward silence for the 'meeting' to officially begin upon Astoria's arrival, neither of them looking towards each other.

Finally, after a few minutes, Astoria arrived, bringing with her someone new. Perplexed, Harry, found that it was the dreamy-looking blonde girl he had seen Astoria with during breakfast. Why was she there? He looked at Daphne, she didn't seem surprised but only kept up her cold attitude as she looked upon Astoria with a calculating eye.

Slightly blushing Astoria answered their unspoken question. "Hello Daph, hello Harry," she addressed them, a little insecure in her manner. "This is Luna Lovegood, she is a Ravenclaw second year." She presented the girl and Luna stepped forward, walking up to Daphne and Harry to shake their hands.

"Hello Harry Potter, hello Daphne Greengrass." Harry found that even her voice was dreamy as she greeted them, only amplifying the impression Harry got when he first saw her.

"Hello Luna," Harry and Daphne replied in unison. After a short moment of silence Daphne turned to Astoria with a raised eyebrow and demanded, her voice cold, "Why did you bring her?"

Astoria found that she was not at all pleased with her sister's attitude. Sure, it was one thing for the rest of the school to be on the receiving end of Daphne's chilly attitude, but for her to be doing the same to Astoria? It would not do. Instead Astoria rose up to the challenge, her temper flaring. It did not happen very often and even she was surprised by it.

As most people who have ever experienced Astoria's temper know, you do not want to be on the other side. She rarely gets angry without real cause and when she does it hurts, a lot. Harry and Luna would soon learn this and Daphne should know already. This occasion was no exception.

"Excuse me? Excuse ME?" Her usually soft voice had climbed up to a shrill scream. "Last time, you two quickly forgot my presence and started to drift off into your own lovers' game where one of you is too dense to understand anything and the other is stupidly narrow-minded to accept your feelings. How did you think I was feeling being left alone in the corner? I didn't mind it at the time since you seemed to have fun and all but you expect me to be only a spectator every time we meet here?" She had to pause in her tirade to catch her breath. Taking in her surroundings she saw shock on her siblings faces, eyes wide with gaping mouths, even Luna had slipped out of her standard dreamy appearance. It was Daphne who was the closest to recovering, blushing as Astoria's words sunk in.

"I-I'm so very sorry Tori," she began but as she tried to continue she was cut off, "I promise we will-"

"You will what?" Astoria's eyes, in contrast to her fiery demeanor, had an icy glow to them. "Include me? Work together with your homework while also helping me? How can I be sure of that when last time, you did not even notice me leaving?" Her temper had slowed down and now she was almost crying, making Harry and Daphne feel the guilt even heavier as their expressions pained. "So, excuse me for bringing a friend to these meetings. We all know anyway that it's mainly you two that mom wants to get along since I don't have a problem with either of you. I already talked to her and Professor McGonagall and they thought it was alright for me to bring a friend." As she spoke she seemed to become smaller and smaller. Her voice was reduced to a tiny whisper and silent tears started to well from her eyes.

Daphne didn't say anything and instead she rushed to warmly embrace her sister in a big hug, feeling that there was no reason for words, also she on the verge of tears. Harry was unable to say anything, he could only walk up to Astoria and put a comforting hand on her should while berating himself for their idiocy last time at the same time as trying to melt the rest of her words. She had said something about lovers. His thoughts were interrupted by Daphne's voice.

"We were idiots." She stated simply and let slip a tiny smile as Astoria nodded. Harry could only agree.

"We are sorry," he added.

Astoria, a little reassured seemed to brighten up a little. "It's alright. I just had to get that out there, but I don't really feel like talking to you guys now." With that she and Luna, who had after that small shock at the start of Astoria's outburst reverted back to her dreamy self, went to the back of the room, leaving Harry and Daphne awkwardly alone.

"You want to work on some homework?" Harry broke the silence uncertainly causing Daphne to roll her eyes. He really was as dense as Astoria said he was. So that's exactly what they did until the hourglass signaled the end of the hour. Then they, under awkward silence, all walked out to Professor McGonagall's room and reported out. Still, under the Professor's stern eye Harry escorted Daphne down to the Slytherin's common room. It was finally Daphne who broke the silence.

"I still won't ever accept you as my brother." She stated coldly just before she stood up on her toes to give him a short kiss on his cheek. And then she added as an afterthought of pure evil after seeing his almost stupid joy. "Don't get your hopes up." She then laughed gleefully at his dumbfounded expression. "You really are dense." With that said, she skipped to the opening of the Slytherin common room, eager to talk to Tracey.

Harry, frozen in place, took about five minutes until his brain started functioning again and when it finally started; there was no way to stop it. What just happened? His head was spinning so fast that he was burning brain cells at a record speed. After replaying the previous events in his head, he felt his body heating up, in more ways than just through his pyromancy. To cool down he decided to go take a jog.

The evening breeze was cool on his skin as he exited the castle and began his jog around the lake. It worked wonders to help him organize his thoughts. It didn't hurt that Wood would like the initiative. So Daphne liked him? But she was obviously sending mixed signals. What was it Astoria had said again? 'They played a lover's game, one was dense' (that must mean him, judging by Daphne's comment before she left him), 'the other was too narrow-minded to accept their feelings', this comment must then have been aimed at Daphne. What feelings would that be? Did Astoria imply that Daphne loved him but couldn't accept it due to some kind of prejudice against him? Harry somehow found that hard to believe, even though there was Daphne's kiss. She had also showed her cold side.

In the end Harry came to a conclusion. Daphne was playing with him. Similarly to how she was playing the entire school with her Ice Queen persona she was playing him by constantly changing her attitude towards him. A smile slowly crept up upon his face as he reasoned around his thinking. If she could play the game, so could he. He also wanted to check up on what the twins were planning.

He had gotten almost a quarter around the lake when he got an odd feeling. It strangely reminded him of something was all he had time to think as his vision turned black.

.

_He was running swiftly through the forest on all four paws. There were no dementors chasing. This time he was the chaser. He followed the smell that he knew all too well. He had stayed outside his house, watching over him for the major part of the summer since he escaped that hellhole. He hadn't dared confront the boy though. The boy probably didn't even know he had a godfather._

_He finally reached the edge of the forest and saw the boy running around the river, seemingly deep in thought. As he saw the boy, he felt an immense sadness welling up inside of him. The boy looked so much like his father. He had bulked up a little since Sirius last saw him in the summer. His features had become more distinct and his body had become a little more toned. It had barely been three weeks since he saw him but the difference between the malnourishment he had to endure at the Dursleys and now was already evident. It wasn't as if he was especially well toned or anything, just that a significant change to before was discernible._

_As he realized he was daydreaming he focused back on the boy who, to his surprise had stopped. The boy was looking into the forest where he was spying on him. Before he could recover from the shock the boy had started to run towards him._

"_Sirius!"_

_._

"Sirius!" Harry yelled loudly. Today was just full of happy moments. "Sirius! I finally get to meet you!" He was close to reaching the big black dog who, when Harry thought about it, looked suspiciously similar the 'Grim' that Treblowney had seen during his first Divination class. The dog, Sirius, sat completely and perfectly still as it stared at Harry with big eyes as he finally reached him panting hard. "Sirius, I want to speak with-"

He never got to finish the sentence as the big black dog rapidly turned around and ran back into the forest. "Sirius," was all he managed to say before he lost sight of his godfather. He was too out of breath to follow but it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. There was no way he could catch up that big dog.

A little disappointed at how the first meeting with his godfather, it was not at all how he had imagined it, he decided to keep the meeting a secret. It wasn't time yet to tell anyone about Sirius and obviously Sirius wasn't ready either. He started the walk back to the castle and then to his dormitory, ignoring the curious looks he got from his housemates for coming in so late. All in all, he felt that it had been a rather interesting day as he settled into his bed.

.

A few days later Harry finally managed to catch the twins after Quidditch practice before they slipped away to the Gryffindor tower.

"Hey Harry, what is on your mind mate?" Fred asked. Harry had finally managed to be able to distinguish the twins from each other, he thought.

"Yeah Harry. How may two good-natured Samaritans be of service?"

"You haven't gotten into trouble, have you?" Fred continued as Harry rolled his eyes.

"Always we have to save you from the clutches of evil-"

"Will, you shut up?" Harry exclaimed, trying to hold himself from laughing. "I want to know what kind of giant prank you two are planning." He demanded, causing the twins to quickly look around innocently. Fred started inspecting a very interesting pebble on the ground. "You two haven't dung-bombed anyone for a week, I know you have been up to something since I told you about how Daphne has tricked the entire school and I want in on it." At this George whistled impressively.

"So the disciple thinks he is ready, does he?"

"Be patient, my young Padawan." Fred epically preached, causing Harry to lose his focus.

"You've seen Star Wars? I thought you didn't even know what a video was," He asked surprisingly.

"Star Wars?" Fred asked seeming confused.

"Video?" George continued on the same track. Although, Harry wasn't sure how he would interpret this as he peered into their mischievous winking eyes.

"Anyway," Harry continued. "Let me in on the prank."

After a silent minute of serious pondering and seemingly telepathic communication between the twins Fred answered. "Alright, but first you will have to tell us why you are suddenly so insistent."

At this they started walking through the castle as Harry told them about the game he and Daphne were seemingly playing, or rather, that Daphne was playing on him. This seemingly only caused the twins respect for the Ice Queen as well as their excitement to increase. Harry followed them through the Gryffindor common room and gave a small laugh as they stood on each side of the door to their dormitory, bowing as to let in a lord.

As he entered the room he didn't see anything special but after the twins had joined him and closed the door they both cast a joint disillusionment charm. To Harry's surprise he realized that it probably needed both of them to cast simultaneously to work.

"That's really smart," Harry began, "where did you learn it?" Instead of answering him, the twins remained silent and pointed towards the faraway corner in the dorm. When Harry turned to see where they were pointing he froze. Slowly a wicked grin crept onto his face and he was shortly joined by the twins. He found that there was only one word that fit the situation. "Perfect."

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> Finally everything is set off! I have a question for you, what do you think the the classroom next to McGonagall's office should be called? It is a bit tedious to write that all the time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and please review!

P.S. I am feeling a little bit like a hypocrite when I say all the time that the chapters will get longer but they barely do. All I got to say to that is that they will become the length they become. Nothing is going to change that.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** Hey guys! Now here is the next chapter. About 3.4k words. I think that is a pretty good length. I have been busy actually writing a timeline for the story and taking down notes and ideas to help me actually advance with story as well as (a little guiltily) been busy reading others fanfics. You know, when you find a good fanfic you just can't put it down! Also, reading other fanfics gives me inspiration with my own and I hope it helps me write a better story. Anyway, I think it is a pretty good chapter. Hope you do as well! Enjoy!

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><p>Harry woke up as a new person. A lot had happened in the last few days that had caused him to start a change. Just yesterday he had been included in the twins prank. It would take a while before it was ready but it would be worth it. After they had shown him the materials they had immediately started going through the plan thoroughly, adding details here and there. Harry had surprised both himself and the twins with his good eye for it. Maybe it was in his blood, he thought as he remembered Lupin commenting on his father being a big prankster<em>. <em>Anyway, a lot had happened the day before that was the start of a change. He could feel it as he shuffled out of bed.

"Good morning," he announced delightedly to his dorm, getting some groans and hard glares back for waking them up so early in the morning, especially since it was Saturday. Neville was the only one who got up with him.

"Good morning Harry," he replied tiredly as he got dressed. "Mind if I join you for breakfast?"

"Certainly not," Harry responded, a little astonished by the boy. While they weren't exactly strangers, Harry wouldn't really call them friends. Their relationship was simply them being housemates, barely nothing more. "Let's get going then." He continued and Neville nodded and followed him down through the common room. They walked in silence but it wasn't awkward in any way, just tired, Harry would even go as far as calling the atmosphere pleasant as Neville let out a huge yawn. Tired Neville was a strange contrast to the normal shy and nervous boy that Harry knew very little of.

Once they reached the Great Hall Harry saw that the Gryffindor table was mainly empty aside from a few seventh years. On the Slytherin table however, sat Daphne. Harry pondered going over there but thought that maybe it was too early, if he didn't want to get his head blown off. Besides, Daphne probably wouldn't want to eat with him anyway but that was one of the reasons he wanted to eat there. What finally changed his mind from challenging fate was when he looked over to the Ravenclaw table.

"Follow me Neville." He almost commanded as he started to walk towards the Ravenclaw table. When Neville finally realized what he was doing he was swiftly woken up.

"What are you doing Harry?" He demanded under his breath. His voice gave away how close he was to panicking and Harry was glad he didn't choose the Slytherin table. Neville would probably have fainted if he realized how close he was to have gone to his 'favorite' teacher's house's table.

"Hi Padma, hi Terry" Harry exclaimed with a smile as he was getting closer to the Ravenclaw table surprising them both. "Mind if Neville and I join you for breakfast?" He asked while Neville was treading on the spot, rubbing his sweaty hands. Harry almost started getting nervous from looking at his housemate. However he needn't worry, after recovering from the surprise and shooting the boys a suspicious glance, wondering what he was playing at, Padma answered his question.

"Of course not Harry, you and Neville are welcome to join us. We just got here." She said, inviting them with a smile.

"Come on Neville, sit down." Harry urged Neville as he walked around the table to sit next to Padma, earning him more than a few glances from not only the students but also the teachers.

As he sat down he saw Daphne peering at them from the Slytherin table. She seemed curious but also slightly bitter about something. Testing a theory he used his finger to gently brush the edge of Padma's mouth and then put the finger in his mouth, sucking off whatever was on it. Needless to say, Padma, Terry and Neville were all too stunned to react in any way other than freezing for a few seconds. "You had some jam there and now it's gone," Harry stated calmly with shrug and glanced over to Daphne whose eyes, to his delight, had turned to ice. Malfoy, who had been bothering her about something was slowly backing away as he noticed her icy glare. Harry, feeling that he had won this battle smirked and winked at her, causing Daphne's cold stare to become even harder, however, the well-trained eye would have also noted her cheeks coloring slightly.

As he returned to his meal with Neville blushing, Padma and Terry seemingly having decided on forgetting the weird event, Harry and the others started chatting about when the Hogsmeade weekends would begin and what the village could have to offer. They then decided they would meet up later to study in the library, Neville was invited as well of course but he politely declined, and as Harry started walking out from the Great Hall he was stopped by a small hand. It was Astoria who was sitting at the edge of the table. Harry could see her eyes twinkle with amusement.

"Hi Astoria," He greeted her with a dashing smile and bow, causing her and the other first years she was sitting with to giggle slightly.

"Hi Harry," she responded and then continued on a more serious note, "you know you are playing a dangerous game, don't you?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about my dear Tori," Harry, feeling that feigning ignorance would probably be the best choice, answered. "Now, if my lady will excuse me, I need to go and study." At this Astoria rolled her eyes.

"She won't forget this, you will see." She added hastily with a wolfish grin. Harry, thinking that he might have been playing with fire (pun not intended), felt a tiny cold shiver run down his spine as he pictured a certain blonde painting a target all over his back. As he once again glanced her way he saw that she was still glaring, her stare promising revenge one way or another. It was all he could do to keep himself from running straight out of the Great Hall.

.

Daphne enjoyed the reaction she could invoke in people by only her eyes as she observed Harry almost running away from her stare. It was not the first time she thanked Merlin for inheriting her mother's eyes and it was probably safe to assume that it wouldn't be the last. She was able to express herself both more intricately and more intensely than the normal person with just her eyes and she enjoyed doing it. It was one of the benefits that came with the power her eyes possessed. A power she was too young to learn about, at least according to her mom. To prevent her from trying to explore her powers on her own her parents had put some kind of magical block on them. It was a bitter thought, but she would be patient.

"So what do you think about what Malfoy said?" Tracey interrupted her thoughts as they strolled up to the library.

"What? Oh, that." Daphne recalled what Malfoy had said during breakfast until he had suddenly backed off in fear. "I don't really care," she said with a shrug. "He can threaten as much as he wants. He will trip on himself if he tries anything."

Tracey simply nodded in response. She thought however that there seemed to be more than simple threats coming from Malfoy even if Daphne didn't see it. After a moment of serious pondering about the blonde git she decided to return to her favorite pastime. Pestering Daphne about the Potter boy. It was especially effective and enjoyable after the stunt he had performed during breakfast. It seemed that the Boy Who Lived would not keep that title for very long.

.

It was finally time for Hogsmeade. Luckily, Harry had managed to send Hedwig to Celia to get a permission slip from her just before the Hogsmeade weekend was announced and here he was, waiting for the carriages to take them to Hogsmeade.

With him was his kind of newfound gang. It was an odd group. There was of course him, from Gryffindor along with Fred and George, they had really gotten closer while preparing their prank, and honestly they could barely be more excited since the potion was close to finished. From Ravenclaw there was Padma and Terry, they and Harry had sort of bonded through their little study-group and Harry felt that he needed to get these guys noses out of their books. They were almost as bad as Hermione. In fact, Hermione was probably the reason why they studied so fervently, they wanted to catch up to her and fight for the top-spot. As far as Harry knew, they weren't far behind either. _That's gonna have to change,_ Harry smirked to himself while climbing into the carriage, of course, he barely took notice of the well-shaped bum of a certain Padma Patil who had climbed in just before him.

There were also Hufflepuffs in their group. Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones had been saved from a harassing Snape by Harry 'accidentally' running into the professor while being chased by the Weasley twins. Of course, they had all needed to serve detention for it, Harry and the twins for their 'recklessness' and the two Hufflepuff girls for laughing, especially when they saw the pattern belonging to Snape's underwear. . Afterwards, it had only become natural for them to hang out and if anything, they always had a nice story to tell anyone how they first became friends. However, the biggest surprise to their group was probably Cedric, while in his 6th year it did seem weird for him to hang out with them. Seemingly his date had gotten sick and so when he stood by the carriages, pondering what he should do, Harry invited him to join.

Sadly, Daphne had declined Harry's offer. Or she didn't really decline, it was more like pointedly ignoring him asking at all, causing Tracey to giggle and excuse Daphne's behavior, "She is just embarrassed by having The boy Who Lived asking her out," causing Daphne to focus her glare more on Tracey. Harry and Daphne had been like that for a while now ever since Harry had begun to change. Sometimes Daphne would actually seem to enjoy spending time with him and other times she would look at him with cold eyes attempting to stare him out of this world. Harry on the other hand always responded cheerfully and whenever he got the cold end of the stick named Daphne he would start flirting outrageously with someone, mostly with Padma , intensifying her glare and giving Harry goosebumps. He had reached the conclusion that it was a guilty kind of pleasure. It certainly seemed to be a pleasure for Tracey. She had never met anyone who could cause such drastic and sudden changes in Daphne's demeanor. It was seriously amusing. She did however wonder how long it would last.

In the end, Daphne had gone to Hogsmeade with Tracey and Blaise, making Harry feel a little downtrodden. On the other hand, Daphne's refusal prompted Harry to ask his new group of friends instead. _And now, here we all are!_

Cedric turned up to be a nice bloke and the carriage ride wasn't near as awkward as Harry had suspected it to be. It was, however, a little grating that most of the girls in the carriage practically idolized Cedric. Maybe he was smart (top of his class), too handsome for his own good, nice beyond means and a talented seeker, although Harry knew that he was the better in the last category. Still, there was no point in having the girls fawning over him, hanging on to every word he said. Worst of all, he seemed practically oblivious at the attention he got. Only Padma didn't seem to be caught up in the swirling storm of pheromones that was supposed to be the Hufflepuff seeker, but that was probably mainly because she was discussing if what they learned in Arithmancy combined with muggle technology could help them create a magical television. The twins, maybe unsurprisingly knowledgeable about muggle technology, probably due to their father's line of work, were greatly interested in the topic, although probably not for the same reason as Padma and Terry were. They actually seemed to understand the cryptic numbers, formulas and whatnot the Ravenclaws were talking about, whereas Harry was completely oblivious and utterly uninterested to even attempt an understanding. Instead he entertained himself with counting how many times the _Great_ and _Handsome_ Cedric had saved the world from one of the most dangerous dark lords in modern history.

Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card, but without all the snow and Christmas decorations. _Of course there wasn't snow yet, October had merely just begun_,Harry thought, wondering why he had made that comparison. Hogsmeade consisted mainly of one main road where most of the shops and inns where located and there wasn't much to add. It was a tiny but homely village. The visit was mainly spent with Cedric and the Twins showing the rest of them around the village and after filling sacks with candy from Honeydukes and a few joke products, regardless of the Twins complaining about the quality of the work despite buying a few dungbombs themselves, they made their way to the Three Broomsticks to relax and enjoy some butterbeer.

Harry was drinking his butterbeer while taking pleasure in imagining how he would outclass Cedric on the Quidditch pitch when suddenly a scream pierced the jovial atmosphere causing the whole inn to freeze. Finally they heard a clear but quiet female voice.

"Don't ever call me a mudblood again," the voice stated threateningly. Harry recognized it as Hermione's voice but he had never heard her speaking like that before. Curious, he started up and walked towards the door.

As if this was a signal, the whole inn began to bustle with activity as the patrons tried to reach the door or window to get a look on what happened. Harry, expecting to see Malfoy picking a fight with Hermione was surprised to see that it wasn't the self-claimed Slytherin Prince but instead it was a certain Theodore Nott lying on the ground, staring at Hermione.

In the distance Harry saw a dark figure disappear in a white flash and at the same time he thought he saw both of Hermione's eyes turn completely white. It was gone as fast as it came, leaving Harry to wonder.

Under the pressure of Hermione's angry eyes as well as all the spectators, Nott scrambled up and shuffled hastily away, while trying to keep his pride. All the while, barely contained mouse-like noises erupted from his throat.

"Well done Hermione!" Fred broke the silence and after a few seconds, most of the non-Slytherin students began to cheer.

"Didn't expect that from-" However, something caused the twins to stop when Hermione turned her gaze at them. Then, with a sniff, she turned on her heels and walked away, barely anyone noticed.

After the incident, most of the students returned to the castle. Harry and his new gang included. The carriage ride back home was silent, the others sensing the atmosphere around Harry. They had all witnessed something weird and surprising, and Harry was in deep thoughts as to who the flashing white figure was and if it had anything to do with Hermione.

"Why did you stop speaking when Hermione looked at you?" Harry asked the twins, thinking that they might have noticed something about Hermione.

The twins looked at each other and shrugged. "Don't know," Fred started.

"It was weird, scary."

"Like she saw-"

"Straight through us."

"Her eyes were-"

"Just so clear."

"Uhm, okay." Harry sighed. It wasn't really anything useful but one thing was for certain. Something was up with Hermione. Then, a thought struck him. "Did you two just fall in love with Hermione?"

The Twins' reactions were perfectly simultaneous and coordinated, it couldn't be better if they had planned it. First there was surprise, then confusion, then of deep thought and lastly their faces grew a deep red that nearly put their hair to shame, causing the whole carriage to laugh and after a few seconds the Twins joined in as well.

.

When Harry walked into the usual classroom he found that it wasn't Professor McGonagall who was waiting for him inside as it had been for a little more than a month now. Instead it was Professor Lupin who was standing in the front of the room, his hands clasped behind his back as he waited for Harry to arrive.

Harry knew he had made at least some progress now in his meditation. Finding and utilizing his magical core came much easier to him compared to before and he thought he was ready for the next step. He could now spread his 'fire' throughout his whole body in a matter of minutes and also move it around to concentrate it at different locations. Most of the time he could keep his control for around ten minutes until he started to lose it and had to start over again. Harry was eager to begin the next step of his pyromancy training, but he was also excited to learn whatever Professor Lupin had to teach him.

"Hello Harry."

"Good day Professor Lupin." Harry responded courteously. The DADA Professor had been a pleasant surprise for all of Hogwarts. He was, if you listened to the seventh years, at least the best DADA teacher that Hogwarts had in the last seven years. He was knowledgeable, pedagogical and his classes were entertaining. In the last class, they had faced a Boggart. Apparently the first one had somehow escaped and the Professor had to move the class until he could catch a new one. Harry, however, hadn't had time to face the Boggart before the class had ended. Maybe that was just as well.

"Harry, do you remember what we spoke of at the beginning of the term?" At Harry's nod the Professor continued. "Great. Well, let us not waste time and get started immediately."

Without as much as a pause the Professor then proceeded into lecturing Harry about what was known about the dementors and how the Patronus charm worked. He had Harry working on the incantation and the happy memory when finally he deemed him ready to try and face a dementor.

Harry slowly approached the wardrobe containing the Boggart at the end of the classroom. As he got closer he got nervous. _What if my greatest fear isn't a dementor? What's gonna happen then?_ Before he managed to think any further he felt a cold grabbing him as the wardrobe opened, allowing a dementor to fly out. As it swooped down towards Harry he tried his hardest to think about the moment he got his Hogwarts letter.

"_Expecto Patronum!"_

The dementor recoiled as a silvery mist emerged from his wand but after a short observation it reached out with a bony hand and brought it through the mist, touching Harry on the head with a finger. He heard a woman scream. Saw a green light. All went white. All went red. All went black.

.

Harry woke up. He was lying on a table. When Professor Lupin saw him sitting up he hurried over.

"Here Harry, eat this." He offered him a bar of chocolate.

After a pause while Harry was eating his chocolate he asked. "Professor, what did I do wrong?"

The Professor pondered a little before answering. "Harry, Your incantation was perfect and you are definitely strong enough so I would say that either your memory wasn't happy enough or your focus on it wasn't good enough. But judging by the praise I hear about how good you have become at focusing your magical core I'd guess that the memory wasn't happy enough." He finished with a small smile, giving Harry some time to record the new information. "Now, do you think you feel well enough to go to your next class?"

"Yes, sir," Harry nodded.

"Good, then hop along or you'll be late. We'll try again next time."

As he left the classroom he racked his brains for his one happiest memory that would be enough to force away a dementor.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> Hi! thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed! What are your thoughts about the figure flashing away in white?

Please review! Anything and everything is appreciated and I love getting reviews! It is probably one of the most exciting things, getting to know what the readers think that is.


	11. Chapter 11

**An:** Hi! Here is the next chapter! Hope you will like it! Btw, Just crossed 500 followers hype! **Woop! Woop!**

I would just like to say that this story started out as a learning experience for me where I could learn how to write a good and interesting story and use your reviews as advice to help making me a better writer, but now I write simply because I really enjoy it! It is still a learning experience and I love receiving reviews (especially long and detailed ones), it is just that the head motive for writing this story has changed! Again, I hope you enjoy and don't hesitate to review!

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><p><em>He was running through the forest, dodging trees, jumping tree trunks and bursting through bushes. Once he reached a clearing with a cave he transformed. Where there once was a big dog there stood now a man. He was a tall man with dirty long, black and matted hair. His thin and frail body showed signs of returning to its former well-toned self. His skin was no longer almost see-through pale but had begun to recover its fairness. His sunken face was recovering its striking features. Sirius Black was indeed a handsome man, alas, his time in Azkaban has formed him into a frail copy of what he once was. The only feature of his that had been able to endure Azkaban was his eyes. His deep, grey and striking eyes had somehow been able to keep their playful flickering for thirteen long years. Those very eyes were proof that Sirius Black had not gone crazy, that he had suffered through the dementors' torture and come out with his mind intact. Those very eyes were the mark that he would take revenge on those that had wronged him. For, although his eyes had kept their humorous luster, they had also gained something else, something that was far from amusing.<em>

_The weeks had been hard for Sirius, but not harder than Azkaban. He had been able to hunt in the forest while in his animagus form as well as hide from the dementors. As a result he had slowly but surely been growing in strength. The dementors were dangerous but lazy and they stayed close to the castle while Sirius was deep in the forest. They would not venture out this far, Sirius thought as he started cooking the rabbit he caught. Even if there were a lot of dangers in the forest, there were also weak creatures, after all, the predators had to eat something. While eating his meal Sirius could feel some vibrations in the air. He took it as a sign. Halloween was just around the corner and so was the time for him to strike. _

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The time had finally come for the first Quidditch match of the year. Gryffindor pitted against Slytherin. The stands were packed, the weather was perfect. Nothing could go wrong.

As Harry flew a lap around the pitch he spotted Daphne in the stands. He waved, and blew a kiss causing more than one girl to turn a little red. He had to learn something after flirting so much over the last few weeks. Daphne, however, just glared back at him and tugged at the Slytherin scarf around her neck. Smiling a little, Harry continued his lap while listening to Lee Jordan in search of the Snitch.

"Great save by Wood! He passes to Angelina, to Katie, back to Angelina, beautiful girl by the way, wonder if she'll go on a date with me."

"Jordan!" McGonagall sounded outraged but Lee carried on.

"- and finally to Alicia, she shoots and she scores! 60-20! Well done Gryffindor! The foul snakes don't stand a chance this year!"

"Jordan!" McGonagall cried out again, although not with nearly as much vigor as before. Harry suspected he knew why but he didn't have time to think about it because Malfoy had suddenly gone into a deep dive. Hurriedly he urged his firebolt forward to catch up.

"It looks like Malfoy has seen the snitch! Come on Harry! You can catch up to him!"

Harry was slowly gaining on Malfoy as he saw the snitch. It was only a few meters in front of Malfoy and he was gaining onto it. Finally, only a few inches from the snitch, Harry had caught up to the blonde boy, focusing with all his might to reach the snitch before him and ignoring the cheers and boos from the stands. Just as Harry was about to overtake him, Malfoy whispered something in his ear causing Harry to turn his focus to Malfoy and with all his might, he slammed his shoulder into Malfoy, causing the boy to yelp and turn away from the course, losing the snitch in the act. Harry, on the other hand, had kept track of the snitch and was gaining ground, free of the distraction. After a few seconds he caught it with relative ease, receiving a thunderous amount of cheers from the stands.

"And Harry Potter has caught the snitch! The proud Lions win 210-20! What an absolute smashing victory!"

.

In the Gryffindor common room Harry was working on a letter to Celia, writing describing various occurrences since they last met, especially the dreams. He was, however, interrupted by the Twins loudly clambering down the stairs to the common room. One glance told him they were excited for some reason. Once they got closer they spoke in a rushed whisper.

"Harry!"

"It's ready." Without waiting for an answer they rushed back up to their dorm with Harry just a few steps after, his letter forgotten on the table.

When Harry reached the twins dormitory he saw them standing just in front of the door, admiring their great creation, barely noticing Harry walking up and standing between them.

"Tomorrow, we strike." Harry stated and the Twins nodded solemnly in response.

.

It was the morn of Halloween and Daphne had finally distributed her promised revenge on Harry after he had blown her a kiss. Seemingly she was fed up with his clumsy flirting but he did not believe it so. If someone had asked Harry, her reaction had been more to keep up appearances, mostly for herself.

He had, however, not expected to get a pumpkin pie straight to the face, nor a can of pumpkin juice poured over his head. The rest of school was as well more than a little surprised by the sudden flare the Ice Queen had shown. It had been impossible for them to not notice how the Boy Who Lived had started flirting with the major part of the female population and it seemed that not even the Ice Queen went safe. 'For the Ice Queen to act like this the Potter boy must have done something truly outrageous!'

Harry, after getting over the moment of surprise, couldn't help but give off a deep and loud laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, earning him more than one concerned look. 'The poor boy has finally cracked.' Daphne gave him a look that promised more and worse when she realized that he had not reacted at all like she expected her face changed to curious and disappointed.

_Just you wait, dear Daphne. Just you wait._ Harry's laughter rose even more as he tried to wipe his face with his sleeve, noticing that it only got worse since also his sleeve was drenched in pumpkin juice. With a beaming smile on his face and leaving the whole Great Hall staring confused and worriedly at his back he made his way to his dorm for a change of clothes. He didn't notice the beaming smiles coming from the staff table and the admiring ones coming from the Twins. _Now there is how you take a prank,_ four professors and one student thoughts mirrored each other, or two students, depending on how one count the twins.

_Sirius and James would have been proud_, a certain professor thought after Harry had left, shifting his attention to a blonde Slytherin girl who gave a frustrated shrug as she returned to her seat. No, Harry had definitely not reacted as she had expected and wanted, much to the amusement of her best friend Tracey Davis.

.

Daphne was still miffed out by Harry's reaction when she prepared to start on the desserts of the Halloween feast. It had been a great meal, as usual, although the pumpkin juice had tasted a little weird.

"Hey, Daphne. You still thinking about Lover Boy?" Tracey teased causing Daphne to look up from her food to give her friend one of her famous glares. The shock of what she saw was enough to completely break her Ice Queen façade.

.

Lupin had just finished a particularly tasty tart. As he looked up to gaze over the students he gave a startled laugh and it only intensified when Daphne Greengrass, Slytherin's Ice Queen glared back at her.

.

Ginny was happily chewing through her pumpkin tart as she looked at her hero, Harry Potter. Her mother dreamed that she would one day marry him but she knew better. It was impossible for her to not notice the attraction Harry had for Slytherin's Ice Queen and she believed the Ice Queen held similar feelings for Harry as well. Nevertheless, she could not help but love and admire the Boy Who Lived. It came as a surprise for her then when she looked around and saw Daphne Greengrass glaring at her as if she was a threat. She gulped and fainted.

.

Astoria was thinking of how Harry and Daphne had gotten closer. It was probably a good idea of Harry to act as he did this morning. _Daphne needs someone that can throw her off-balance_, she thought with a grin. As she looked up she saw that her sister was glaring at her as if she had read her mind. Quickly she looked down again, feeling her cheeks grow hot.

The Twins and Harry were nearly bursting with laughter, earning themselves a blazing cold glare from Daphne Greengrass. However it was only them and Professor Lupin who were howling with laughter. At least, Harry thought it was Lupin, he couldn't tell. They all looked like Daphne Greengrass.

.

The Great Hall was in an uproar as everybody's faces had turned into Daphne Greengrass with a permanent glare. The only ones not affected were the Daphne and, of course, Snape who only ever drank water.

There was a great mix of laughter, shrieks of panic and a few first years were even crying as the Great Hall erupted. It took Dumbledore, it was easy to recognize him due to the robes, five magical booms, each louder than the other, to restore order to the students. "If all prefects could lead their respective houses to their dorms immediately while Harry Potter, George Weasley and Fred Weasley stay behind. Poppy, I trust you will take care of Ms Weasley?" Madam Pomfrey nodded as she was already by the girl's side.

It was quite an amusing sight, seeing Daphne Greengrass (Dumbledore), Daphne Greengrass (McGonagall), Daphne Greengrass (Lupin), Severus Snape and the three student Daphne's standing all together in front of the teachers table and glaring at each other. Even Snape glared, despite not having the fixed Daphne face.

"You think this is funny do you, Potter?" Snape whipped out at Fred.

"Here, Professor." Harry pointed out and waved a hand, while giving the Professor a hard glare that he would never have done otherwise. Now he was just happy that the Professor could not see the smirk upon his face. He quickly stepped out of the way as Snape reached for him.

"Now calm down Severus." Dumbledore intervened. "Harry, Fred, George. If you would be so kind to give us the counter charm or potion I will let you off with only a week of detention." Dumbledore's voice was gentle, although his icy glare said completely otherwise. "We can't have the students all go around looking like Ms. Greengrass now, can we?" Normally a pleasant smile and a twinkle in his eyes would accompany the headmaster's words but now his face was set in stone and his eyes were icy silver.

Trying to contain their fits of laughter the three students shook their heads and one of the twins spoke up.

"We do not know the counter to this prank, Headmaster."

All the time McGonagall was glaring at her three Lions until she finally spoke up, choosing to take a side.

"Do you have proof that these are the guilty students, Albus? Severus?" Her tone was hard, and if it weren't for his face being set, the Headmaster would have shown surprise at her words.

"I know it's them!" Severus hissed fiercely. His eyes were the only ones burning, a stark contrast to the rest of them.

"And how, would you know that if I may ask? They are as much affected as the rest of the students." The Transfiguration Professor's icy voice actually matched the icy mask she was wearing.

"They were laughing while the rest of the students were confused and panicking!"

"That is hardly something I would consider proof, Severus." McGonagall answered. "They will not serve detention and will not be punished in any way until their guilt has been proven." Harry just loved when their head of house stood up for her lions. It was one of the reasons she was his favorite teacher. Minerva McGonagall was a stern and serious teacher but say what you will, she always had her students' backs when she felt they needed it, no matter what house they were from.

"I will force the truth out of them!" Snape stated while calming down and bringing out a small vial of silver liquid. He started approaching the students but Dumbledore stopped him.

"I am afraid Minerva is right, Severus. We will simply have to work on the counter ourselves. I suspect the next few days will be mighty confusing for all of us." Behind the mask, Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling at full power. "Now, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley, I suggest you return to your dorms. And Severus, I suggest you go and check on Ms. Greengrass. The real one," the headmaster added with a slight cough and dismissed them all.

"Yes, headmaster." The three students chorused and skipped off happily with McGonagall shortly after them.

On their way up to the Gryffindor common room they were almost howling with laughter but they quickly toned it down when they noticed the professor catching up to them.

"I dearly hope that I didn't just defend a trio of guilty Lions now." Her tone was harsh, hinting what would happen if she discovered it was them. The Twins were the first to react.

"Would never dream of it, Professor." One of them said innocently. It was hard to distinguish between them at normal times. Now it was impossible.

"I am offended!" The other one exclaimed.

"How little do you think of us, Professor!" Harry joined in.

"I know exactly what I think of you, Potter." She answered as they approached the common room. If it weren't for her Daphne-mask they would have noticed the amusement showing on her face.

.

Once they reached the common room they noticed a mill of Daphne's outside the portrait, murmuring indiscreetly to each other. They seemed to have for now gotten over the major shock of everyone looking like the Ice Queen, however unnerving it was to receive that glare wherever they looked.

"What's the matter here?" McGonagall demanded and the students made space for her to walk through. Someone sniggered that even McGonagall hadn't managed to escape the prank and she looked at the person. "Mr. Thomas, ten points from Gryffindor for not respecting a member of staff." If it weren't for his mask, Dean Thomas would have shown surprise but instead he glared at the Professor while stuttering. The surprise was pretty evident anyway.

As the Professor reached the portrait of the Fat Lady she was horrified by what she saw. The painting was ruined and ripped, with the Fat Lady crying loudly.

"What happened?" The Professor demanded, ignoring the surprise the Fat Lady showed when she heard the Professor's voice from the same face that all the students wore. Once she had recovered from the surprise, the painting finally answered with a shout.

"Sirius! Sirius Black was here!"

.

Daphne went to bed with more feelings than she could count. She was angry, confused, irritated, embarrassed, nervous and infuriated all at the same time as she was slightly amused by the prank. She was almost certain that Harry was behind it and he would learn that she suspected him. It was a problem, however, that everybody looked like her. Tracey had told her to 'keep wearing the same Ice Queen glare she always did and no one would be able to distinguish between her and the rest of the student body' but Daphne wasn't so sure. She was mostly happy that the prank hadn't included her body. That would be truly embarrassing.

She fell asleep with a smile, thinking of the things she would do to a certain boy with a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> Thank you for reading, hope you liked it! Just being curious, did you figure out what the prank actually was before it was revealed? It took me such a long time to figure out what they were planning, I have been thinking about it ever since the Twins started planning it. In fact I realised just yesterday just before I fell asleep what the prank would actually be.

Please review and express your thoughts and feelings! Anything and everything is appreciated!


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:** Hi guys! Here is the next chapter. 4k words! Hope you enjoy it and don't hesitate to review!

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><p>The Fat Lady was distressed to say the least. As soon as Dumbledore arrived, he moved her frame to his office and replaced her temporarily with the painting of a knight that chattered way too much for the students liking. Nevertheless, it was now possible for the Gryffindors to enter their common room and they nervously filed in. While they entered, they all wondered how Sirius Black had gotten past the dementors. What was the point of having them when they couldn't even do their job? Thoughts like this filled the minds of the students while they waited for their Head of house to talk to them.<p>

As soon as the Twins entered the common room they dragged Harry to the side, ignoring McGonagall's reassurance speech.

"Harry." One of them whispered.

"You are Harry, aren't you?"

"Of course he is Harry. Do you think I wouldn't recognize him?" The first twin sounded incredulous.

"Just saying," the other one defended. "Hey! Now, we could be the Triplets!"

"Not a bad idea," agreed the first one while Harry was shaking with laughter. "I see just one minor problem, oh dear brother of mine."

"What's that?"

"There are not only three of us but hundreds."

"Oh, they're not allowed to join." The second one stated dully.

"Indeed, we will have to work this out some other way."

"I suppose you're right, dear brother." The second one conceded.

"Always am," the first replied smugly, earning a half-hearted punch to his chest. "Anyway, Harry. What was that you said before about Daphne's 'Ice Queen' being the biggest prank of the school?"

"Well, I suppose, technically, she still is the biggest prank of the school." The other one pondered. "But at least she is not the biggest pranker now, is she?"

Harry, now outright laughing could only agree. The Twins had earned the rights as the schools number one prankers at the moment, maybe in all of time, though Harry might know of some that could compete with them.

"On to more important matters!" One of the twins, Harry had forgotten who the first or second one was, announced and they hurriedly dragged a confused Harry up to their dorm just as McGonagall finished reassuring her lions. She didn't miss them walking up the stairs and would have given them a suspicious glance if it wasn't for her face being set to an icy stare.

As soon as they burst through the door to their dorm, one of the twins darted of to his trunk and started throwing out clothes in search for something.

"What are you doi-" Harry started but was interrupted by the other twin who had sat down onto one of the beds.

"Patience, my young Padawan, patience." Repeating the Star Wars reference.

"So you have seen Star Wars!" Harry accused them and after a short silence that left Harry doubting if he was right in his accusation the twins spoke simply.

"Harry, I am your father."

Before either of them could react, however, the twin searching his trunk gave a cry of joy and relief.

"Ha! Found it!" He claimed proudly as he made his way over to the bed and placed an old piece of parchment on the bed. "Why do we always bury it so far down in the trunk, Gred?"

"For safety, Forge, Safety." Gred answered while shaking his head and then proceeded to tap the parchment with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Harry gasped.

.

Meanwhile, from another dorm a voice echoed throughout the Gryffindor tower as a young red haired boy let out a shout.

"Scabbers is gone!"

.

The whole next morning the students were busy gossiping about the attack of Sirius Black. It was believed that he was looking for Harry, but Daphne thought that was weird. Why would Sirius Black try to attack Gryffindors common room during the feast? It should be obvious that Harry wouldn't be in there then. Something didn't add up.

Aside from gossiping about the escaped convict, the students amused themselves with giving each other icy glares, shuddering from icy glares and speculating when the Daphne-faces would wear off. After the first shock of the prank, most had taken it in good humor and some were even sad, although Daphne was everything but sad for it, that they didn't get the Ice Queens body as well. Whenever Daphne went past someone complaining about it, she sent them a deathly glare that left no doubt that she was the real one.

There were problems with the prank though. People often mistook each other for their friends and more than one little secret made its way out to the public. Much to the chagrin of the couples, it was difficult to become more… intimate while having a deadly glare of ice directed at you. It was difficult for the teachers as well. Only McGonagall was seemingly able to differentiate between the students. The older students, and some of the teachers, attempted to use a glamour spell to appear as themselves but the Daphne-face resisted it. Funnily enough, not even when McGonagall was in her cat-form did the Daphne-face wear off. The only reason the students were able to concentrate during Transfiguration while a cat with Daphne Greengrass face glared at them was the fact that it was Professor McGonagall, and everyone knew better than to cross her.

It was then, to the great disappointment of Harry and the Twins as well as some larger parts of the school, that the whole staff turned up for supper wearing their own faces. Thus, at different times during the meal, Harry and the Twins each carefully mumbled something that caused the Daphne-mask to wear off, earning them icy glares from the rest of the student body as well as quite a few suspicious stares from the teachers' table along with a sneer from Snape.

However, not one dared ask them how they'd dropped the mask. Although there was no proof of them actually being the responsible prankers there were however no doubt in most of the students minds who the guilty ones were, and after the ultimate prank they had played on the whole school there wasn't anyone willing to cross them. Finally, Padma walked, or it was revealed that it was Padma once she presented herself to the Twins and Harry.

"How do I get rid of it?" She finally demanded after a short moment of strained silence. Her voice was so hard and icy that it almost fit with the face of the Ice Queen. She was obviously irritated that she was part of the prank but she also understood that it would have been too suspicious to leave their group of friends out of it, hell, they were already suspected enough as it were.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Ms Patil, we must have been lucky and the prank canceled during the meal," Fred blankly explained while George and Harry managed to keep a straight face through it all. "Maybe you noticed that our masks didn't all disappear at the same time."

At that moment a few gasps were heard throughout the Great Hall as Hermione walked in, also her without the Ice Queen mask. This certainly surprised the Harry and the Twins but they quickly masked it without anyone noticing.

"As you see," George shot in, making the lie more believable, "other's masks have also disappeared."

Giving the three of them a final icy glare, Padma sighed and walked up to the bushy haired girl but failed to get a response when she tried to inquire about how she had managed to cancel the prank. Letting out a frustrated grunt she proceeded to the staff table and spoke to Dumbledore upon which she was sent back to the Ravenclaw table. Once she had made herself comfortable at her table the Headmaster rose up and clapped his hands to get the attention of the student body.

"While it has been to our outmost amusement," Harry thought the old man glanced their way with amused twinkling blue eyes, "I believe it high time to cancel the enchantment holding the mask in place, if not for anything, out of respect for Ms Greengrass." Then Dumbledore waited expectantly, twinkling blue eyes definitely resting upon Harry and the Twins, and sometimes flickering towards Hermione.

"But how do we do it!" A voice from the Hufflepuff table rose up, catching Dumbledore's attention.

"Why, Mr. Diggory. You speak the password of course." Dumbledore answered dumbly which caused several not-so-pleasant mutterings across the different tables when he didn't immediately disclose the password. Once Dumbledore got the mood of the students he proceeded. "I thought, perhaps by seeing that a few already succeeding to do so, that you would like to figure out the password for yourselves but if that is not the case I shall give it to you." He paused artistically as the whole student body leaned in to hear his every word and then he announced with a hint of dread in his voice. "The next generation of Marauders has arrived."

The reaction was mixed as the students all canceled the enchantment placed upon them. Some students whose parents had been to Hogwarts had heard a little about the Marauders and started gossiping fervently, sharing what they knew with their housemates. Most students, however, were simply confused as they tried to learn all that they could about who these so-called Marauders were. Luckily, in the huge mess, no one noticed the now huge grins donning the faces of three Gryffindors.

Harry thought that perhaps the staffs' reactions were the most interesting though. He couldn't tell if McGonagall was worried, amused, pleased or displeased when she heard the name of the infamous group of prankers. Snape was seething with a hot rage at the mention of the Marauders. The other Professors who knew what the Marauders had done during their time at Hogwarts mostly wore a worried expression as they flicked their eyes over the students. Lastly Dumbledore had donned a passive expression but his eyes were twinkling so much that it was nigh on blinding.

.

Harry was sitting in the ring of water with McGonagall in front of him. He was drenched from top to toe, maybe because of McGonagall's hydromancy was keeping his pyromancy in control, but he mainly attributed it to sweat. His dementor-lessons with Lupin had ended once he was consistently successful in subduing the Boggart-dementor and his pyromancy lessons had finally begun anew. McGonagall had taken to training him with renewed vigour and she was far from lenient.

"Do as we have practiced." The Professor's voice was stern as always but Harry had learned to interpret it as her way of caring, a small smile danced on his lips as he closed his eyes. "Find your magical core, transport it through your body. Don't lose it! Now, hold out your right hand with your palm pointed upwards and fingers spread and focus your magic to your hand. Condense it and let it go to the edge of your fingertips. Then press it out slowly, but keep contact with it!" She said the last part with a sneer as Harry felt that he lost the contact with his magic. A large batch of cool water was dropped over him, causing him to shake his head in surprise as he looked up at his Professor. Her floating green eyes were making him gulp several times while collecting himself. "Again." was all she said with the strong voice Harry had come to know during their lessons. To try and resist it was similar to swimming upwards through a waterfall. It just didn't happen.

So Harry obeyed, closed his eyes and renewed his efforts. Once he pushed his inner flame out of his fingertips he focused with all his might to still keep contact with his magic. He thought he managed it. There was a tickling sensation playing at the top of his fingers.

"Good." McGonagall stated calmly, careful not to break his concentration. "Now open your eyes."

Harry did as told and looked at the Professor questioningly. He thought that he could hint a proud smile hiding behind her usually stern expression. She gestured to his hand and he turned his attention to it. What he saw amazed him. There was a single small and yellow flame dancing on each of his fingertips. He could feel his warm magic pulsing inside of them and he tried to feed more power into them while focusing on keeping their sight constant. Full of wonder, he observed as the flame turned, then red and then blue, all the while getting hotter and hotter.

He thought it was beginning to show a hint of green when suddenly a lash of water hit his hand, extinguishing his flame and making him lose his grip on his magic. It would leave a rash on his hand. Next he was hit by a large wave, lifting him from his position and before he know it he was forced against the wall at the back of the classroom and felt that he was stuck there, a band of water holding each of his limbs like chains.

Surprised, he looked up to see McGonagall looking like a possessed hag flow towards as if she was water itself. In her eyes there was a raging flood that threatened to thrash him if he so much as dared to challenge it. What she said next made him want to try the flood.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO BURN YOURSELF AND THIS SCHOOL TO CHRISPS?" Her voice was the hammer and he was the nail. "DO NOT EVER TRY TO DO THAT AGAIN! YOU ARE LUCKY THAT I WAS HERE AND THAT I AM YOUR COUNTER!" Then she calmed down in an instant and released him from his water manacles. She continued in a more disappointed tone. Harry thought he preferred when she was screaming at him. "I thought you were ready for the next step but clearly I was wrong." Harry didn't think he had any blood left in his face. "You are talented and you are strong. Once you get taste of the power you possess there will be no going back, and so we will have to continue your education, but at a later date. For now, we will take a break where you will reflect on yourself. Meanwhile you will resume your training with Remus and once I deem you mature enough we will pick up your pyromancy training once again."

Harry was stunned. He couldn't quite wrap his head around what just had happened. He saw that her eyes were no longer a roaring flood but had calmed down to seem like the still ocean. After a long moment of thunderous silence were the gears in Harry's mind had stopped and desperately tried to work again McGonagall finally spoke again while leaning in towards him, her hard face merely inches away from his. The room seemed to grow dark and Harry would later swear that he saw dark clouds looming behind and above the Transfiguration Professor.

"Potter. If you ever try to consciously work your pyromancy when I am not there and haven't given my express permission…" she asserted threateningly. "Let's just say that the consequences will be dire."

Harry nodded, not trusting his voice to speak.

"Good." With that she cast a drying charm on him and turned around with a flourish, leaving the breathless Boy Who Lived in the Culture Room as he had come to call the room where he met with Astoria, Daphne and trained with McGonagall and Lupin. _Well, only Lupin now_, he thought as he finally allowed himself to gasp for air after what felt like an eternity.

.

Daphne was surprised a little surprise when Harry didn't show up for potions. She tried to listen in on the Gryffindors conversation but they didn't mention him. It wouldn't help her anyway since they didn't know where he was. That was made clear when Snape proceeded to take points from Gryffindor for not keeping tabs on their housemates.

She was actually beginning to worry when she didn't see him at dinner either. Daphne Greengrass, worrying about a boy, and a Gryffindor no less. She would never hear the end of it if Tracey found out. There was a chance that she knew anyway. Sometimes it felt like Tracey knew Daphne better than she did herself.

She felt a little better, however, after dinner when Professor McGonagall approached her and told her that her parents were waiting for her in McGonagall's office. Surely Harry would be there as well. She had almost forgotten her planned revenge on the boy.

.

Once she entered the Professor's office she was immediately disappointed that she didn't see Harry when she looked around. _Where did the git go? Is he in the infirmary?_

She was nevertheless, happy to meet her parents again. Professor Lupin and Astoria were there as well.

"Where is Harry?" Daphne demanded hotly, surprising everyone in the room, not the least herself. Celia and Zadoc smiled at their daughter, amused by her change.

"Why, we thought you would know, Daph." The beautiful woman told her daughter, slightly worried. They all turned to look questioningly at McGonagall.

Not even the Transfiguration Professor could take on three ice cold silver eyes without feeling the need to shrug it off.

"I don't know." The Professor answered honestly with an inconspicuous shrug. "Last time I saw him was this morning in the Culture Room and I've told you what happened then."

Daphne made a mental note of that and would make sure to ask Harry the next time she got the chance.

"He is not in the infirmary then?" Zadoc inquired but McGonagall simply shook her head.

"I would be informed if he was."

Daphne, feeling that they had stood around doing nothing for a long enough time went out the door, ignoring the others questions as she walked out. She walked up to the Culture Room and opened it. In the room she found a sweaty Harry sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, in just his boxers she noticed as a tint of red painted her cheeks. She hurriedly called out to the others, alerting Harry to her presence at the same time.

.

Harry was startled out of his meditation by a voice calling. When he opened his eyes he saw Daphne.

"Hi Daph-" He was interrupted when he saw Celia, Zadoc, Astoria and to his horror, Professor McGonagall arrive as well. "P-Professor," he stammered, "I p-p-promise, I-I didn't perform a-any pyromancy!" His panic was evident and it almost caused McGonagall to smile as she noticed how seriously he had taken her warning. Maybe he was ready. Only time would tell.

"That's quite alright Mr. Potter," she reassured him, "I sense no elemental magic from you." Harry sighed in relief. "Might I inquire where you have been all day?"

"All day?" He replied, confused. "I thought I would just stay here for a little while before I went to lunch. I have been meditating, organizing my thoughts and thinking about what happened this morning." He explained, a little dreamily. "What time is it?"

"It's after dinner." Zadoc interjected and coughed discreetly as he looked Harry up and down with a raised eyebrow. Astoria and Daphne had both been shamelessly eyeing his near naked body. Although he didn't have a true athlete's physique just yet, he did sport the foundation of a well-toned body.

"After dinner? I have been here that long?" Finally he realized his state of undress after a few more not so discreet coughs from Zadoc. Red enough to put a Weasley to shame, Harry scuttled over to his robes and put them on. "So, what's all this about?" He asked after regaining his composure and gestured towards Celia and Zadoc.

"Before we go into that, Mr. Potter," McGonagall interrupted. "I will have to deduct ten points from Gryffindor and you will serve a week of detention with me. Even if it wasn't your intention, one does not skip class." Harry nodded seriously, finding the punishment reasonable for what he had done.

"We are here to discuss Sirius Black." Lupin finally spoke up. "As you all know he broke into Gryffindor tower a few days ago."

"Yes? What are Daphne and Astoria doing here then?" Harry challenged.

"We were thinking, once we managed to contact him we would offer him to live with us. Of course that involves the girls as well." Celia shot in with a no nonsense look at Harry, causing him to shrink into himself a little.

"Of course," he replied, "sorry."

"It's alright dear," Celia forgave him.

"So, girls, would it be acceptable to have Harry's godfather live with us once we manage to contact him?"

"Of course," they answered without hesitating as if there never was a doubt.

The gesture warmed Harry's heart to no end. He felt himself getting warmer and warmer until he felt a warning hand upon his shoulder and looked up to see Professor McGonagall stand above him. Then he noticed what he was doing unconsciously and hurried to calm down his magic, earning an approving smile from the professor.

"Great!" Lupin exclaimed. "Now, Harry, do you know if Sirius took anything from the tower? As far as I know, nothing has been reported to be missing."

"He didn't really take anything as far as I know." Harry pondered but added after a minute. "Although, the same night Ron found that his rat, Scabbers was missing. Why would Sirius want to take a rat though?"

"What?" Everybody stared at Lupin who had exclaimed. "Peter Pettigrew's animagus form was a rat!" He exclaimed and then understanding dawned on the others.

"You think that Ronald Weasley's rat is Peter Pettigrew?" McGonagall questioned, she didn't seem entirely convinced. Lupin just turned to Harry, his voice intense.

"Harry, do you happen to know how long the Weasleys have had Scabbers?"

"I'm not too sure, I think, maybe thirteen years?" Harry thought he had heard Ron mention it sometime.

Lupin bristled. "That's just as long as Peter have been missing." He then turned to the other adults solemnly. "I believe we can assume that Sirius got Pettigrew in his possession."

"In that case, we need to find him quick, before he kills Pettigrew." Zadoc announced.

"Indeed," McGonagall added. "We need Pettigrew alive so we can force a trial for them."

"Only then will the truth be revealed," Celia was the last one to speak and the others nodded.

Then it came to Harry that he had already met Sirius once, and so, to the great interest of the others he told them of his previous meeting with the escaped convict. They were much chagrined to learn that Sirius had fled before they could have a proper conversation. It would make things that much more difficult if Sirius could not be baited with Harry.

After much brainstorming it was finally Zadoc who spoke up clearly.

"I have a plan."

.

After the meeting, Celia Greengrass had almost interrogated Harry, Astoria and Daphne in her questioning to make sure that they got along and surprisingly she seemed rather pleased with the results so far. 'It will be a fine Christmas,' Celia Greengrass had said before dismissing them to return to their house dorms.

.

It was with relief that Daphne returned to bed. She was happy that Harry hadn't disappeared somewhere and had surprised herself with how used she had gotten to his presence. He was simply always there and it would be weird for him to be gone.

She hadn't really paid much attention to the grown-ups planning. She didn't have a part in the plan so there wasn't much she could do anyway. Instead she had busied herself with sorting out exactly what she felt about the Golden Boy. She did hope that they would be able to free Sirius of his charges and that he would be able to come live with them and Harry.

It did, however, seem as if Daphne had finally and completely accepted the idea of Harry living with them, even having him as part of her family. She wasn't planning for him to play the part of brother though, at least not with her.

Her last thought before she fell asleep was of Harry in just his boxers. He would have to train a little bit, and then he would be just ripe for picking. Maybe she would get her revenge in another way than she had originally had planned. Needless to say, she fell asleep with a smile on her face. A smile that would send shivers down Harry's spine had he known it was intended for him.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

It is hard to write a meeting with several people without having one or more be there uselessly but I think I did alright.

How do you think they could best approach Sirius as fast as possible?

Please do not hesitate to review! It is the fuel I use to write this story and truly everything and anything, long or short, helps in boosting my motivation!


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:** Hi! This is another rather long chapter. Some parts of it were fairly difficult to write but I am pretty satisfied with it. Hope you like it and don't hesitate to review!

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><p><em>Sirius was full of glee. Just a few days ago he had actually managed to capture Peter Pettigrew. The one thing that was responsible for everything he, Lupin and worst of all, little Harry had to go through. The one responsible for his sentence to Azkaban and the one responsible for Lily's and James' deaths was just in front of him. <em>

_The vile rat was crucified up against the wall of the cave, much like muggle-Jesus was. Pettigrew would not die for any sins other than his own though. He rat was dozing off but it wasn't so weird for him to be tired. Sirius had refrained from feeding him since he caught him, neither did he have any plans to. Now it was part for some revenge. Nothing he did would be able to bring back Lily and James, nor would it make up for the twelve years he spent in Azkaban that he should have spent taking care of Harry. It would, however, bring him some satisfaction to know that the traitor wouldn't run free and receive some retribution for his evil deeds._

_Sirius had decided that the traitor had starved enough, now it was the true torture would begin. With a small flick of his 'borrowed' wand he created a blinking light just inside of Pettigrew's eyelids, making it impossible for the rat to keep up his starved sleep. It was one of the inventions from their time at Hogwarts. They would often use it to pester the ones who annoyed them. One certain Severus Snape was quite often targeted by it. The Death Eater on the wall began to pathetically whimper._

"_Please, Sirius, Padfoot-" _

"_DO NOT DARE TO CALL ME THAT!"_ _Sirius even surprised himself with the rage he felt. "How dare you even think of using the name of a Marauder? You will never be one of us again!"_

"_I am sorry, Sirius, please. I didn't have a choice!" Wormta… no, Pettigrew the Rat continued to plead. Sirius refused to think of him as a Marauder again. _

"_Don't worry." Sirius answered as conjured up a metal pole, putting one end into the fire. There was a pure and terrifying smile on his face as he watched the fear on Pettigrew's grow. "You won't have a choice in this case either, you slimy maggot!"_

_Slowly, he walked up to Pettigrew, taking delight in the reaction every step. He would take delight in the screams of pain the rat would let out. _

"_ah, ah… Aahh. AAAAHHHH." Sirius had slowly pressed the pole, tip first, into Pettigrew's right forearm, leaving a nice and cindered hole halfway through it. He licked his lips as he switched to the other arm. Maybe he hadn't completely kept his sanity from all those years in Azkaban. Then again, he had always had a bit of a wicked streak, he had been told so enough times by James and Remus as well as by… Pettigrew. The Blacks were not exactly famous for their sanity either._

_Just as he was about to burrow a symmetrical hole into the Rat's other arm, he heard a noise from outside the cave. Thinking it might be some of those bloody spiders he went out to check, temporarily leaving a sweaty and panting Pettigrew behind._

_He was definitely not ready for the sight that hit him._

.

It was not a very complicated plan that Zadoc had come up with. Most of the good ones aren't. It relied mainly on having Harry learn to see from Sirius point of view while still being able to give information to them. He got the idea from Harry seeing himself running through the lake instead of collapsing as soon as he went into Sirius mind. It implied that he could still make choices with his body while being in Sirius mind so-to-speak. They had practiced it whenever they had time for the last two days after the meeting and Harry thought they were ready, he could now lapse in and out of the 'Sirius-dreaming', as they have come to call it, at will. It was also a bit urgent since Sirius had decided to begin his revenge unto Peter Pettigrew.

They were reasonably sure of the location after Harry had described the clearing with the cave. It was Lupin who said that he thought he knew but he was unwilling to disclose exactly how he knew it. He just mumbled something of visiting there during his school days. This was weird since it was seemingly very deep into the forest. It was even deeper than the spiders' nest that Harry and Ron had visited last year!

Anyway, the plan was to locate Sirius before he did too much harm to Pettigrew and have Lupin meet him, followed by Harry since that would probably be the least antagonizing way to approach him.

Now, Zadoc, Celia, Harry and Professor McGonagall were flying over the forest, following Lupin. After a few hours, Lupin held out a hand to stop them. He then dropped down onto a clearing with a cave, the very same clearing that Harry recognized from his 'dreams'. Lupin made sure to make a lot of noise as he walked towards the cave, wand ready so as not get hit by some surprise-attack Sirius might prepare for intruders.

Harry, now reverted back to himself after seeing through Sirius eyes for so long, managed to spot a man cautiously glancing out of the cave until he caught sight of Remus.

"Hello, Padfoot." It took only two words for the unshaved, thin man with long and dirty black hair to leap out of his cave and throw himself at Lupin.

"Remus!" He exclaimed. "I am so glad to see you! You won't believe who I have inside the cave!"

"I know, actually, dear Sirius, who you have inside." This caused a stop in Sirius glee but a smile returned to his lips as Lupin. "I also happen to know, or rather, highly suspect since I do not have any definite proof, that you are actually innocent."

"You were always the brightest one, Moony." Sirius replied and added with a little too big of a grin, "Would you like to join me in torturing and killing the traitorous rat then?"

Harry and the others had now landed close to the clearing, preparing to enter at Lupin's signal.

"Actually, Sirius, there are some things we need to take care." Lupin smiled friendly and motioned for Harry to come forward. "I know you want to kill Pettigrew, and so do I, but we need him alive, to clear your name and make it possible for you to carry out your duties as a godfather. Harry has been dying to meet you." As if on cue, Harry walked into the clearing, giving his godfather an additional surprise. Actually, it was on cue, it happened at exactly the timing they were planning it to. A true Marauder never let a chance of showmanship to slip away.

"Harry," was all that Sirius could say as he looked upon the child of his best friend as well as the child he was supposed to protect, and failed to do so.

"Hello, Sirius." There was a brief pause as they both took in each other and tried to communicate the last twelve years with just their eyes. As they peered into each other's lives, the rest of Harry's and Lupin's group emerged from the trees. Sirius looked around, recognizing the faces of long-lost friends and he couldn't take it anymore. He fell into a heap of tears and emotions.

.

All things considered, the meeting with Sirius had gone fairly well. After Sirius recovered from the initial shock of meeting friends he had long since deemed a lost cause they had been able to have a real talk. After almost a frightening amount of persuasion they managed to convince Sirius to not kill Pettigrew so that they could clear his name through a trial. Zadoc and Celia offered their home as a temporary lodging until he could safely take up his obligations as Head of house Black. Once that was taken care of, they began to catch up Sirius on all of the happenings around the world during his isolation time in Azkaban.

Celia and Zadoc went into the cave to take a passed out Pettigrew to their manor and then send an owl to the ministry saying that they have both Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black and would give them up but on the condition of a public trial with the use of Veritaserum. Luckily, the Greengrass house was one of the more powerful ones, making such demands possible. Meanwhile, Lupin and McGonagall took a short walk, allowing Harry and Sirius some private time.

"So, you got adopted by Celia and Zadoc." It wasn't a question, but it had to be said anyway.

"Yeah, McGonagall found a will from my parents and after how the Dursleys maltreated me, there wasn't much anyone could do about it."

Awkward would be the mildest term to describe the moment. None of them knew exactly how they should respond to each other. In front of him Sirius saw the child of his best friend and he could not help but feel guilty for all the hardships that had befallen the boy. Just thirteen years old and he had suffered more than the common adult should ever suffer.

On the other hand, Harry had mixed feelings towards Sirius. He felt some sort of connection towards the man who supposedly was his father's best friend. All the same, he felt some spite for the man. Instead of taking care of Harry once he had found out what had happened to James and Lily he had gone off into a frenzy and chased after their traitor, ending with him locked up in Azkaban. If he had been able to hold his temper, then maybe, just maybe, Harry would not have to suffer all the abuse and neglect from the Dursleys. Nevertheless Harry could also understand the man, he could not have predicted those repercussions and when Harry thought about it, he might very well have done the same thing. Although he had been helping in convincing Sirius to not kill the traitor just moments earlier he had also needed convincing that it was the right choice to wait with Pettigrew's punishments. As he saw it, however, no matter what verdict the trial would give Pettigrew, Harry and probably Sirius as well, would both make sure that the rat died, and stayed dead.

The awkward atmosphere proceeded on as Harry and Sirius traded tales of their years at Hogwarts but it got slowly better as they found common ground. Unsurprisingly one of those common grounds was pranking. Harry had already suspected this from his talks with Lupin but it was nice to hear the actual tales from Sirius as well.

Harry quickly realized that he and the Twins most likely didn't stand a chance against the record of the original Marauders from the sheer quantity of pranks they had committed. He did, nonetheless, think that they might have the original Marauders beat in the sheer magnitude of a single prank. And so it was with great delight that he told Sirius of the prank involving the whole school and how they had tricked them all. Needless to say, the old Marauder was mightily impressed. Harry had been slightly worried how he would take them self-proclaiming themselves as the new generation of Marauders but instead Sirius had been proud that the legacy lived on with such outstanding prankers.

"So… Daphne Greengrass," Sirius contemplated, smiling as he saw Harry flinch slightly. "Last I saw her, she was but a baby but if she looks anything like her mum then she got to be a real beauty. Then again, if she is anything like her mum you got your work cut out for you." Then he broke out into loud laughter as Harry's cheek blossom bright red. It had been so long since had laughed like that, more than twelve years. He had forgotten how good it felt.

Harry on the other hand found a very interesting stone on the ground while trying to force the blood from his cheeks. They were both interrupted by McGonagall and Lupin returning from their walk.

"It's time," Lupin said, nodding to Sirius. He would be taken to the Greengrass manor and they would start working on his and Pettigrew's trial. Sirius stood up from his sitting position and helped Harry up as well.

They looked at each other briefly before stepping into a warm hug. The kind of hug neither of them had experienced since the night Harry's parents were killed. The kind of hug only family could give.

"We'll keep in touch, huh, Prongslet?"

"Through Hedwig," Harry smiled and nodded.

With that, Sirius stepped away from Harry and locked his arm into Lupin's and with a large grin and a small salute the long reunited friends apparated away and left Harry in the clearing with McGonagall. They were both shaken from the previous events and they flew back to the castle in silence, neither of them willing to disrupt the magic of the silence.

.

It was with a sigh of regret that Harry entered the Culture Room and found the DADA professor inside instead of the Transfiguration professor. It seemed that in the eyes of Professor McGonagall that Harry still wasn't ready to continue his pyromancy training.

"Good morning, Harry," Lupin greeted him and smiled as he noticed Harry's badly concealed disappointment. "There are other useful things to learn than pyromancy, Harry." At this a flash of guilt crossed Harry's face.

"I'm sorry, Professor. It's just, I let her down and honestly I am not entirely sure what I did. I understand from her reaction that it was bad but that's about all there is to it."

"Perhaps that's the problem then?"

Harry looked up confused. "I'm not sure I understand."

Putting on his pedagogical face, Lupin started explaining. "From what I hear you are very talented and were making great progress as well. Then, perhaps a little too early and too eagerly, you moved on to the next step. More than just use your power, you need to understand it fully and completely. You need to know when, where, how and why you should use your power. Only when you have shown that level of maturity will you be ready for the next step. It is a wondrous ability you have, Harry but it is also dangerous. You need to know and comprehend all the dangers and implications of it to control it."

Harry frowned while soaking up all the information handed to him. "You seem to know an awful lot about this kind of thing, Professor." It wasn't an accusation, it was more a statement out of curiosity.

"One has to be allowed to have their secrets, Harry," Lupin gave him a secretive look. "Let me just say that I have experienced something similar."

"Then, Professor, how do I show that I am ready?"

Lupin smiled warmly at the child of his two best friends. He knew that Lily and James would have been proud of their son if they had seen him now, all but ready to prove himself. "Give it time, Harry. You are not at fault alone but Professor McGonagall is as well for rushing into the next stage."

Harry's eyes widened as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"Don't tell her I said that," Lupin added with a grin that got mirrored in Harry but then continued on a more serious note. "I believe that is why she became so angry. She wasn't frustrated only at you but also at herself for allowing you to proceed too quickly. She was maybe a bit too rough with you but keep in mind that she is only human. We are capable of making mistakes and overreacting and Professor McGonagall is no exception. Show her with your actions that you are willing and trying to understand your power and in time she will see that you are ready. I know that she seemed impressed when we found you meditating for a whole day, perhaps going down that line would be the proper choice."

Harry nodded understandably. He thought he had noticed something along those lines as well. "Thank you, Professor."

Reassured, Harry then moved on to the reason he really was there. "What will you teach me today Professor?" He had learnt the patronus already and there wasn't anything more that Lupin could actively teach him on that particular spell but he got the implication that he could learn a lot from his DADA professor.

Peering at him shrewdly, Lupin answered, "What do you know about Occlumency?"

"Nothing, sir," Harry answered blankly and truthfully. He had never heard of it before and he felt like he should have.

"Not to worry, Harry. It is not a very well-known art." Lupin explained and watched the relief evident on Harry's face. The boy sure was afraid that he wouldn't measure up to what was expected out of him. He then, once again, donned his pedagogical face as he went into teaching this new art. "Occlumency is the skill of protecting one's mind from outside dangers. Its opposite is Legilimency which is the skill to venture into another's mind. Mind-reading if you want a simple way of defining it, although it is not entirely accurate but that is for another time. Occlumency is useful for more than just defending against Legilimency, although that was the original purpose. With Occlumency one can dampen the effect of creatures such as Dementors," If Harry wasn't already listening attentively that would have been sure to catch his attention, "spells, jinxes, curses and charms as well as potions meant to affect the mind in any way. A strong enough Occlumens will even be capable of fooling Veritaserum or resist the Imperius Curse. Other than protection, Occlumency is also great for organizing one's thoughts as well making it easier to remember."

"It does seem like a rather useful thing," Harry contemplated. Just the possibility of protecting oneself from the Dementors was enough to convince Harry that he wanted to learn it. The rest was simply a bonus, an incredibly big and useful bonus, but a bonus just the same.

"Indeed it is." Lupin agreed but before he could continue he was interrupted by Harry's curiosity.

"If I may ask sir, how good are you at Occlumency?"

"You may. As to may Occlumency abilities, I have a certain… condition, if you may, that gives me a natural disposition for Occlumency. Add to that my training it would be safe to say that I am fairly well equipped."

"What condition? Can I acquire this condition?" If it improved your Occlumency it would have to be good.

All of a sudden Lupin looked very tired. "You could acquire it but I don't think you want to. As to what it is, I'd rather not say."

Harry understood that he was treading onto an uncomfortable subject and so he refrained from pursuing it. Instead he became eager to begin his Occlumency training.

"How do I learn this Occlumency then?"

It was the right thing to do. Gone was the tired look and replacing it was the face of someone who enjoyed teaching.

"Occlumency is basically imagining a wall around your mind, protecting you from any outside danger that might try to besiege it. The better your focus, the more impenetrable your wall is. This focus is first achieved through meditation and once you're good enough you should be able to keep up your Occlumency almost subconsciously. You are already familiar with meditating and that is good. Now you'll just have to put it to practice."

"So, I just need to imagine and maintain a wall around my mind?" It sure seemed simple enough.

"As simple as that," Lupin agreed. "I will use Legilimency to oversee your progress and once I feel that you are good enough I will use it to distract you. The better you get the more effort I will put into distracting you. Once you reach a certain point I will try not only to distract you but also try to break through your defenses."

"Let's get started then," Harry declared thirstily much to Lupin's amusement. To say that Harry was eager would be a gross understatement.

"Indeed, it is time."

And so Harry sat down with his legs crossed. It wasn't very hard to imagine a wall surrounding his mind and soon he had a stonewall keeping his mind safe. He was already good at focusing his mind and it was quite similar to finding and keeping control of his magical core, just another goal in mind. Soon he could feel something probing his wall.

"So Harry, how's it going with Daphne?"

Just like that his wall crumbled is if it was made of sand.

"You too? Sirius knew as well immediately. Who doesn't know?" Harry sounded desperate and perhaps he was at that.

"Oh, I don't think you have to worry." Lupin laughed heartily. "You forget that Sirius and I knew your father. There are quite a lot of similarities between the two of you, not only in your looks."

"Oh." Harry didn't know what he felt about that.

"Back on track," Lupin reprimanded to get back Harry's attention. "That was far too easy. I didn't even have to use Legilimency. Now, let's try it again and try to keep your focus no matter what I do."

Harry nodded and tried again. This went on for the remainder of the lesson. Harry built up his wall and Lupin kept distracting by talking to him, using Legilimency to send pictures and mentally probing his mental wall as well as poking him and even distracting him visually using funny faces, pictures or anything else he could come up with. If he dared say so himself, Harry did fairly well, for a beginner, as long as Lupin refrained from using Daphne in any way.

.

The following few weeks were a matter of routine for Harry. Professor McGonagall still didn't deem him mature enough to proceed with his pyromancy but Harry didn't mind. His sessions with Lupin were very productive. After the third lesson the Professor brought out a chess board and they proceeded to play wizards chess. They had to make a move in ten seconds, thus training his ability to think while protecting his mind simultaneously. It would suffice to say that Harry was crap at it. He found it nigh impossible to figure out his next move on the chess board as well as maintaining his Occlumency, much less to make up a game-plan. He didn't just practice his Occlumency with Lupin though. He put aside at least half an hour every day to focus on meditating to strengthen and rebuild his mental walls. Slowly but surely he got better, both with his Occlumency and as a small bonus, his chess-play improved as well. He wasn't anywhere near to defeating Veritaserum yet but you know what they say, slow and steady wins the race.

Much like his Occlumency and chess-play also his relationship with Daphne improved over the weeks. Meeting Sirius and keeping in contact with him had done heaps for Harry's confidence. The old Casanova was full of tips and advice on how to treat the opposite sex. But perhaps the biggest change lied in how Daphne responded to his flirting. If Harry didn't think it an impossibility he would almost think that she was flirting right back at him. Often enough it was him walking away red-faced when his original plan had been to make her blush. Not for the first time Harry tried to figure out the meaning behind Daphne's behavior and in lack of anything else he attributed it as a reaction to what Sirius taught him. Little did he realize that the change had taken in effect before Harry met Sirius, namely it had taken effect rather precisely the day after she saw a barely naked Boy Who Lived. What a coincidence indeed.

.

Daphne was sitting in the library, working on her DADA essay, 'the properties and dangers of a Lethifold'. They were rather interesting creatures actually, believed to be distantly related to Dementors. It was nice to be actually learning something with the new DADA teacher. So far they had learnt several useful counter-curses to the most normal curses as well as a few dark creatures.

After a while she noticed a boy sitting down at her table and sighing loudly. It was probably some guy wanting to prove that his bravery to his 'macho'-friends by asking her out, so she ignored him.

There was quiet for a while, making Daphne think that he had left but just as she thought that another sigh alerted her to his presence. She continued to ignore him and tried to focus on describing the appearance of the Lethifold instead.

It was going pretty well for another minute until the boy sighed dramatically. Letting out an irritated huff, showing she did not wish to be disturbed, Daphne pointedly returned to her homework only to be interrupted by another sigh.

Every time Daphne tried to refocus on her essay the grating boy would interrupt her again with a deep and sometimes disappointed sigh. Finally she had enough and prepared one of her most deadly glares for the boy that had infuriated her wrath. Once she had raised her head enough to meet the boy's eyes she expected to make him feel so unnerved to make him scurry off to his friends. He did run away, but definitely not as intended.

She had not expected to meet the boy's eyes merely centimeters away from her own. He had somehow moved right next to her without her noticing! She did notice, however, that his eyes were emerald green. As soon as they were eye to eye, the boy made his move by giving a light peck on her mouth, then without saying anything he ran, leaving the stunned Ice Queen in his wake. Daphne stared straight ahead into empty space.

One second passed.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

On the fourth second she let out a high-pitched scream left her newly-kissed lips, startling the whole library. As it died down, laughter could be heard at the exit from the library and faster than anyone could imagine she was off after the boy who stole her first kiss.

"HARRY POTTER!" Daphne Greengrass bellowed as she ran after the laughing perpetrator. Not even Madam Pince dared to tell her off as she saw the burning rage in the otherwise so chill and calm student.

.

_Running was a good choice, one of my better ones,_ was one of Harry Potter's thoughts as he quickly scurried away from the flaming Ice Queen. In fact, as of right now Harry could not come up with any choice that was better. He was starting to get nervous as he glanced back and saw that she was gaining on him. Daphne Greengrass was a lot faster than he had expected, soon she would be in casting range. She seemed to be aware of this as well as she brought out her wand.

"Move!" Harry yelled at some first-years who were walking in the corridor he just turned into. Wide-eyed they stepped out of the way to make room for the running Golden Boy of Gryffindor and got to witness as the Ice Queen of Slytherin started hurling hexes towards him.

Just as Harry rounded a corner he saw the Weasley Twins walking towards him. Good, he could use them to distract Daphne.

"Harry, what's all this ruckus about?" Fred asked as Harry stopped next to them.

"Running… Daphne… Distract." He said between catching his breath.

The Twins looked at each other knowingly and nodded. George ushered him behind the armor of a knight. "Hide here," he said, "we'll take care of the rest." Once he climbed behind the armor, a breathless Daphne rounded the corner and just like that, Harry's fate was in the hands of the Twins.

.

Daphne slowed down to a walk when she saw the Twins. Caution was needed here. She saw no sign of the soon to be Boy Who Lived Not. She narrowed her eyes to slits and approached the Twins.

"Good afternoon, Milady." One of the Twins courted her. She didn't care which one.

"Where is he?" She demanded causing the Twins to give each other confused looks before shrugging.

"Where is who, Milady?"

"Thou art searching for someone?" Daphne nodded in response.

"We art sad to inform thou-"

"We hath not seen anyone."

"Who art thou looking for?"

"Shut it," Daphne figured that there was no way they hadn't seen Harry and now they were trying to distract her. She focused her glare and leaned into them and said in a barely contained whisper, "I know that you know where he went. Now, either you give me what I want, or… let's just say that I haven't exactly forgotten what you did to the whole school, using my face, no less." She noticed with satisfaction them gulping before they regained their composures.

"Are you blaming us for that totally and epic prank?" Twin 1 sounded incredulous.

"We are innocent! Unless you have any proof to back you up I must say that this is outrageous!" Twin 2 seemed offended. She decided to cut them off before they blow the whole thing out of proportions, this had gone on for too long already.

"It does not matter to me whether you are innocent or not. I will hold you accountable along with your little raven-haired accomplice." The Twins actually seemed worried about that, maybe if she gave them a way out, "However, if you are willing to hand me that accomplice of yours, I might be able to forget your part in the whole thing."

The reaction was instant.

.

Harry was watching the exchange all the time. At first he thought he would be alright. It was when the whispering started that he really started to get nervous. He saw the Twins turn to him, looking at him apologetically.

"Sorry, mate." George said with a regretful smile.

Harry, panicking, tried to bolt but just as he got out from the protection of the armor a sleeping spell hit his back and he fell to the floor. _Bloody traitors,_ were his last thought before he fell into the land of dreams.

Once he woke he noticed that he was sitting with his back against the wall. His hands were bound behind his back and his wand was lying on top of his legs, impossible for him to reach as long as his hands were bound. It was humiliating.

Hovering right in front of him with her face close to his was the Ice Queen. Strangely enough, her eyes showed neither the sign of the hot rage she had displayed before, nor her normal icy glare. They were just her big, deep and clear silver eyes peering straight into his. For some reason this unnerved Harry more than anything else. He did not know how to face this kind of Daphne and it was uncomfortable. The Twins were nowhere to be seen.

She opened her mouth just slightly and Harry closed his eyes, preparing for the worst, except the worst never came. Instead something touched Harry's lips, something that felt suspiciously a lot like another set of lips. He opened his eyes and saw Daphne was much closer than before, her eyes closed. After a few seconds she broke away.

"If you are going to kiss me," she said, "you'd better do it thoroughly." Then she left him where he sat with a laugh.

Harry felt like he had been hit by a stunning spell. _Did that seriously just happen?_ He closed his eyes.

That's when he woke up. When he opened his eyes, however, it was not the roof of his bedpost that met his eyes but was the wall of the corridor. He bit his lip to make sure but nothing happened, aside from hurting a lot in his lip. He was still sitting, with his head bound behind his back and his wand on his lap, in the corridor where Daphne Greengrass, the Ice Queen of Slytherin had just kissed him.

He continued to replay the whole situation in his mind. After quite some time he heard footsteps and he was reminded of his position. Hurriedly, he started struggling with his bound hands and noticed that they weren't tied as hard as he thought they were. It would have been surprisingly cruel to leave him like that. Just imagine what would have happened if Malfoy had come along while he was stuck. Harry just managed to scramble up as the source of the footsteps turned the corner and came into view.

_Speaking of the devil,_ who better to stumble upon him than the self-proclaimed Slytherin prince and his buffoons?

"Potter? Fancy meeting you here." Draco drawled as usual. It seemed he was looking for a fight.

"Not your business, Malfoy." Harry answered, getting ready to walk away.

"Oh, but I believe it is my business. You see, I saw Daphne Greengrass coming from this direction. I know that there is something between you two."

This caught Harry's attention and worried him some actually but he was certain not to show it to the arrogant brat. Instead, he went for mild and amused surprise. "Oh? And what exactly is this something between us?"

"Hell if I know," Draco answered fiercely. "I don't care but it needs to stop."

"And I suppose you'll be the one to do that?" Harry arched an eyebrow and secured the grip on his wand. He would probably not be able to take on all three of them alone, especially since they most likely practiced dueling at home with private tutors, one of the privileges of being from a well-off pureblood family, but hell if he was going down without a fight.

Draco's eyes flashed a little when he recognized the gesture. "No, Potter. I am not interested in thrashing your butt at the moment. I told her to stop consorting with you or she could be thrown out of Slytherin. As you have noticed, she ignored me. But I am not the one you should be worried about finding out though. This is much bigger than you think, Potter." He then motioned to his two gorillas and proceeded to depart from the flabbergasted Harry. Before he turned the corner he called out for a last word. "You have been warned, Potter."

Harry was beginning to get a headache. Malfoy, warning him? Daphne, kissing him? There were only so many surprises a day that you could take. Especially surprises of that magnitude. Next he would be called to old Dumbles office to talk about Sirius and his new adoptive.

As if he had called for it, a blast of fire signaled the arrival of Fawkes. The Phoenix dropped a note and flashed away in another burst of fire. Harry was dreading to pick up the note but he didn't have much of a choice so he picked up the note and read the contents.

**Dear, Mr. Potter **

**I would be most thrilled if you would meet me in my office tonight at your earliest convenience.**

**Sincerely,**

**Dumbledore**

_I should really stop jinxing myself like this_, Harry thought with a big sigh but then he got an idea. It was a long shot but it wouldn't hurt to try. _Imagine my luck if a dozen horny Veelas would suddenly decide to walk in on me._ He waited for a minute but nothing happened. Maybe that was pushing his luck a little too far. Instead, the second best thing walked in on him. Professor McGonagall.

He called out to catch her attention.

"Professor, I got this note from the Headmaster…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Hi and thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! So, what do you think about how Dumbledore will act? I am very split on what route I will go with him and would be happy if you shared my opinions!

When Harry met Sirius for the first time was a really hard part to write but I am fairly satisfied with it anyway.

I hope you liked it! Please review, it is always refreshing and interesting to take in your opinions on the story so far and on how you think/want it to proceed.

On another note, the next chapter won't be out for almost two weeks. I have mock exams for one and a half week and will thus be busy with studying. I think you will manage ;)


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:** Hey everybody! I know it's been a long time since I updated but I have been busy with my mock exams and then studying for my real exams. It actually went pretty well on some of them, although I'll have to do better when the real ones come along. Just in case you wanted to know ;)

This Chapter was supposed to be about 10k words and I had it all planned out, but inbetween all my studying as well as this chapter being really hard to write I thought that I would publish it at this length so that you could at least get something to read. (5,8k words) It's also very thrilling to publish new chapters and get to know from my readers.

I hope you will enjoy!

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><p>Luckily Professor McGonagall had agreed to visit Dumbledore and they were now walking up the stairs to the Headmaster's office. The note Harry received hadn't said that he had to go alone and so, he brought her for security reasons. He was, after all, going to meet the very person who had kept the will hidden from him for most of his life as well as being one of the greatest wizards in the world at the moment. There was no way he would go in there alone.<p>

Just as he was about to knock on the door it swung open and allowed them entrance to Dumbledore's office. When Harry entered the office it looked as expected with all its trinkets, books and portraits spread out in the round room and, of course, Dumbledore sitting behind his desk. Harry had to admit that the Headmaster cut a striking figure, almost regal like, as his twinkling grandfatherly eyes peered down towards them.

The Headmaster showed no hint of surprise that Harry had brought Professor McGonagall with him. In fact, he seemed rather pleased to see her.

"Ah. You finally came, Harry. And I see you brought Professor McGonagall with you as well." The Headmaster welcomed them. In response he got a respectful mumble from Harry and a nod from McGonagall.

The Headmaster was practically beaming. It was more than a little unnerving for Harry.

"Harry, do you happen to know why I sent for you this day?" The headmaster's tone was one of genuine curiosity. Looking into those blue twinkling eyes made Harry think that this was some sort of test. This too aided in increasing Harry's nervousness. Luckily his stern Transfiguration Professor was standing behind him and he drew comfort from that. He could practically feel her firm unyielding spirit as she kept her whole focus onto the Headmaster.

"To offer me a lemon drop, sir?" Harry tried meekly, earning an approving smile from Dumbledore.

"Of course! Where are my manners? Lemon drop?" After Harry politely accepted he turned to McGonagall who simply shook her head causing the Headmaster to shrug cheerfully. "No? Well, more for me." He said and plopped a lemon drop into his mouth. There was a peculiar silence as they sucked on the muggle candy, both monitoring one another, searching for a sign in the other's disposition. It continued for a while until McGonagall finally spoke up.

"Albus, will you get to the point already. Why did you call Mr. Potter to your office?" Her tone was nothing if not impatient and it successfully tore their attention from each other. The Headmaster shifted to peer at McGonagall for a second before nodding.

"Yes, I hope you will excuse my rudeness in asking you to come here so swiftly without any forewarning but there are some matters that I wish to discuss with young Mr. Potter as well as certain information he deserves to know." At this McGonagall nodded satisfactorily while Harry's anger, which had unexpectedly lied dormant so far, piqued as his suspicions were confirmed. As Dumbledore continued he was interrupted by Harry for his patience and anger with the old man finally burst. "My dear boy, as a start I would like to discuss your new hom…"

"Will you tell me why you kept my parents will hidden from me? Why you would even think you had the right to do so? Are you going to explain why I had to suffer for twelve years at my relatives home while all the time the salvation rested in your palms?" His pulse rising, he gathered his breath and continued on a sadder note, tears in his blazing emerald eyes, provoking a pained expression to cross Dumbledore's aged face. "Do you have any idea what life at the Dursleys was like for me? Work around the house every day. Sleep in a cupboard for ten years. Sometimes being locked into said cupboard for weeks with only bread and water for doing accidental magic, something I had no control of. No friends to play with and rumours spread by my own relatives to keep the neighbours away. Live in constant fear of being bullied by my cousin and his gang. Grow up being called freak every day by my own family. As a child, it was hard not to believe them, Professor; I really believed I was a freak. An abomination and a nuisance that was lucky to receive whatever my relatives gave me." As Harry spoke a single tear left Dumbledore's eye but he ignored it. For now he had no respect for Dumbledork.

"Harry…"

"I'm not done, old man." Harry's voice had become hard, unforgiving. "After I discovered that I was a wizard it got slightly better but I was still not entirely convinced. You see, they were afraid of the magic they had tried to beat out of me for ten years. However, once they learnt I could not do magic outside of Hogwarts without repercussions it got even worse than before. They showed me that even with all the magic in the world, they still had power over me. The labour got harder, the jeers got meaner and the food got reduced. Shortly thereafter, the beatings began." McGonagall looked outraged and moved as if to stop him from telling more but Harry ignored her and carried on, face set in stone with burning eyes. "Small at first, a herring here, a push there but they escalated quickly. I was forced to stand between the door and the doorframe as my uncle slammed the door shut. They broke my fingers, ripped my hair out in chunks and burned me with hot frying pans and those are just a handful of the many things they did to me. A few days before Mr. Weasley picked me up I had been thrown down the stairs and was covered with bruises." Harry wore an almost amused smile as he told the next part. It was unsettling to say the least. "Funnily enough, anything more serious than bruises would be healed by my body. Burns, cuts, broken bones as hair were healed and regrown in a matter of hours only to infuriate my uncle even more. I guess he was slightly pleased as well since it meant that he could continue the beatings without any real repercussions. It is ironic that the magic protected and healed me only to be hurt again. For once, my relatives actually took advantage of the thing they hated about me so much. It almost reached the point where I damned my magic for being responsible for everything that happened. Can you believe it? I was about to blame myself for being beaten by my pathetic excuse of an uncle. I was on the verge of truly becoming the freak that my relatives believed I was, blaming myself for everything. Now I know better on what, or in fact, who to blame." He spat the last part through his teeth while glaring at Dumbledore with eyes hot as the sun. During his story, McGonagall had changed from seemingly sick to revulsion to rage. Dumbledore was sitting back in his chair, stunned with the tears now flowing freely. If any of them noticed the fiery aura oozing from the young Gryffindor they gave no sign of doing so.

"Harry, why didn't you tell us?" Dumbledore asked weakly but quickly regretted it.

Harry howled and swept his arm in an arc. As one, all the flames in the room gathered in a curve to Harry. "WHY DIDN'T I TELL YOU? YOU ARE PUTTING THE BLAME ON ME? IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU I WOULD NEVER HAVE HAD TO GO THROUGH THIS HELL THAT HAS BEEN MY LIFE!" Harry shrieked as he hurled the stream of orange flame towards the Headmaster. Just before Dumbledore's desk it was stopped by a wall of water. After it extinguished the fire it swept over Harry, drenching him and cooling him down. He immediately sat down on the floor, exhausted.

"Although I perfectly agree with Mr. Potter so far, I do not think violence is the right course of action, yet." McGonagall announced with iron in her voice and proceeded to drag all the water out of Harry and his clothes and then dumped it unceremoniously on Dumbledore making Harry feel a little better, although far from the satisfaction he would have felt from turning the man to ash. She turned to Harry and bore her eyes into his, "Mr. Potter, you and I will have a serious discussion about this later. Now we will hear the Headmaster out." At Harry's slight nod she sniffed and returned her attention to the 'Great Albus Dumbledore', leader of the light and fighter for 'The Greater Good'.

.

Suddenly being drenched had startled the Headmaster out of his stupor for being attacked by his student. With Pyromancy no less! It was too much for even Dumbledore's mind to take in. How could he have been blind to the Dursleys treatment of Harry? Now the boy would have no trust for him at all and honestly, Albus could hardly blame him. And the boy was a pyromancer. He had known this but he had not expected this much progress in just a few months. It normally took years to reach this level. He was going to bring up Harry dropping Divination for his private lessons but as he thought about it he would let the matter drop. If his pyromancy was at this level already he would need to work more on it to learn to safely control it. The boy had also been training in Occlumency and although he seemed to have made considerable progress it was still possible for Dumbledore's gentle touch to slip through the boy's walls unnoticed. Doing so while Harry was talking Albus saw memories of being beaten and beaten again repeatedly throughout the last few years, he saw the shame, the fear and the reluctance to tell anyone about his demise. What had prompted him to doom the poor boy to such a cruel fate?

If Harry stayed at the Dursleys, sooner or later something horrible enough that even his magic could not heal would happen, and, at least indirectly, it would be his own, Dumbledore's, fault. He had never before felt such remorse for something he had done. In a matter of seconds he decided that he would do whatever to make it up to Harry, gaining his trust or no. He had planned on explaining the bloodwards to Harry and convince him to stay with his relatives for his safety but if the relationship between them were at such a level the wards would be useless. Even if they weren't he would not condemn the boy to such a fate, though Albus doubted that he had the power to do so even if he wanted to at the moment. Nevertheless, the truth came first.

"Harry, I will completely truthful with you. I have made a grave mistake and it has affected you greatly. May I ask that you listen to the ramblings of an old man before you judge me completely?" After short consideration and a reassuring hand on his shoulder from McGonagall, Harry nodded slightly, "I know that offering my condolences will not and should not make any difference to you," more nodding from Harry, "but I offer them anyway. I am truly sorry, Harry. I had not realized how you were treated while you lived with your relatives and I had no right to keep the will hidden from public. I do not know if I can ever make up for this grave offense but I can at least explain I reasoned." The Headmaster paused to rub his eyes and looked at Harry to see if he was paying attention. "Harry, what do you know about bloodwards?" Seeing Harry's confused look he went on explaining. "The reason Harry, that I had you live with your relatives was because of the bloodwards. When your mother so nobly sacrificed herself for you she activated a very ancient magic, a magic that would keep you safe with the people that share your blood, your aunt Petunia and your cousin Dudley as long as you can call that place your home."

"But I can't. I would rather die than go back to that… to that…" The boy spluttered, unable to form the words.

"Ah, and there is the key issue. While I knew that there was some feeling of animosity between you I did not believe it was to this extent. A mistake I only now realize and deeply regret, a mistake that could have been so easily repaired." Albus sighed deeply. "You see Harry, due to the lack of love between you and your relatives, the bloodwards are useless. There are two requirements for the bloodwards, one physical sense of family, the blood you share, and one emotional sense of family. I believe that they were actually in effect at the time you were taken in but over the years they have been rendered ineffective. I only wish that I had come to check on them and so I could have found a new home for you."

A tired Harry looked up at Albus from where he sat on the floor. The boy shook his head in disappointment. "You still don't get it, do you?" It was more a statement than question. "I wish that you had never placed me with them all. The way you see it, it makes it seem that you would have been alright with me beginning to suffer while living with my relatives. You want me to take a few beatings so that the feeling of home has completely disappeared and no until then remove me from the hellhole. I want it to be so that not I, nor anyone else for that matter, would ever have to suffer from the beginning."

Seeing the mistake so blatantly pointed out to him, Albus could only nod. Where had his humanity gone? What was the point of living if you could not truly _live_? He had been so caught up in politics and the constant battle between light and dark that he had not cared for the lives of others, nor his own. Seemingly he was fighting a winning battle so far, but why had he limited the lives of the others on his side while the enemy clearly did whatever they wanted? He was fighting for the right of a peaceful and free life when it was he himself who was hindering that from happening. For the first time in a very long time Albus Dumbledore smiled a genuine smile. Not the grandfatherly smile he usually put on, although that was genuine in its own way, no, this was the same smile that he had taken up a large part of his youth. It was a smile that showed that one was happy, easy as that, happy because of life, uncomplicated and trouble-free. It was a smile that had not seen the light of day since he had first met a certain young blonde boy.

"Yes, Harry. You are perfectly right." To his slight amusement McGonagall's eyes widened somewhat in surprise. It was amazing how clearly the mind of a boy of only thirteen years could see while his mind, with more than a century's worth of experience was so clouded. But maybe that was what was needed. All of a sudden he could feel his old joints creak. His body was not what it used to be, young, lean and athletic. He could feel his age weighing onto him, pushing him down towards the earth. But it was not time just yet, there was still much he needed to do and much others needed to know. What he didn't have in body he would make up with in mind. "Harry," He called out but he wasn't sure what to say. He felt that what had happened since Minerva forcibly took the will from him was actually for the best, as well as Sirius Black getting a trial… "Harry, about your godfather, Sirius," The boy narrowed his eyes suspiciously as Albus hurried on, "I think I can be of help during the trial. If you'd let me of course."

This time, Minerva actually gasped in surprise, THE Albus Dumbledore, actually asking for permission, from a thirteen year old boy! However, this time Minerva's reaction was more to the irritation of Albus than amusement. Really, she had begun to slip quite a lot recently. Fortunately there weren't any other students here than Harry, and he was busy examining Albus before speaking. Indeed, an incredibly bright and clear-minded young man.

"I assume you want me to forgive you for all that you have doomed me to since Voldemort killed my parents and you want to make up for it by helping in freeing Sirius?" Once again, the boy more stated than asked.

"While I do not expect you to forgive me until perhaps even after I am dead I would be lying to you if I said I didn't wish for it to happen sooner. As for Sirius trial, it would be the right thing to do, and it is a start. I have power, a lot of it, and power is very often useful." It had almost turned into a business deal and it was very impersonal. Albus disliked it having to be so, but he had brought this upon himself and all he could do now was his best, which was actually quite good if he dared say so himself.

"Good, I would not expect it either." The boy replied coolly after a moment of deep thinking. "Nevertheless, I have some people that I look up to, like Professor McGonagall here," He gestured to the Professor and she smiled brightly back at him, "and I know that she would be proud if I at the least gave you a chance. I will, therefore accept your offer of help, it would be foolish not to and I hope that we can rebuild our relationship and reach the point where I will be able to forgive you. Although, right now, we are extremely far away from that point."

Albus nodded slowly, unable to hold his smile back, the muscles in his face seemed to have a will on their own, while Harry coldly observed him.

"I am glad we have come to an agreement." Harry finished although he seemed anything but glad. The young man then excused himself and departed from the office with Minerva, constantly glancing back at Albus, in tow.

Albus himself could not contain his smile any longer. It had transformed into a full-blown grin with even his eyes participating, twinkling like mad, but not in the usual old grandfatherly way but in a pure and innocent way, full of love and happiness. The boy had opened his eyes anew. Feeling a laugh working its way up from his stomach he let it out and still oblivious to the wet state of his robes, Albus started to clean his office from the mess after his first horrible and then quite pleasant meeting, the muggle way of course. The moment was too precious to just have it disappear with a flick of his wand. The moment he had finally returned to his old true self.

The only thing that could possibly sadden him was that it had taken so much suffering to bring him back but even that had been pushed to the back of his mind for the moment. Although throughout the rest of his life, however long or short that would be, it would occasionally cause him hours of grief and regret.

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It was a flustered Minerva McGonagall that walked out of the Headmaster's office and who could really blame her? It had gone from a meeting full of tension and burning of bridges where she thought Dumbledore would restrict Harry and return him to his horrible relatives to a business-like meeting where the Headmaster attempted to help them instead and rebuild those very same bridges. It had even reached the point of a full confrontation with Harry using his Pyromancy, almost burning Dumbledore to a crisp. Somehow, through it all, she had been able to keep her senses and stop the attack. Dumbledore certainly hadn't been in a state to defend himself and personally, at the time, she had certainly wanted to drown him in the Great Lake but she had satisfied herself with drenching him. Minerva was and had always been a very righteous person and she believed strongly in the expression of "right should be right." Harry attacking the Headmaster had not been right and so she stopped it.

There was also something about the Headmaster's smile. She could simply not get the image of Albus smile out of her head. There was something special about that smile, something so genuine and almost magical. Then again, perhaps it was, with magic, nothing was impossible.

Gathering herself up, she finally had complete control over herself. If she could not control herself, how could she control the situation? For now, she had a student to take care of and she would not fail him, not after so many others had. Walking behind him she cleared her throat, "Mr. Potter. I believe it is appropriate for us to have our own little meeting." He turned, startled and then fidgeted a little nervously. Minerva had to remind herself that he was only thirteen. It was sometimes easy to forget, especially after an experience like just now. "If you'll follow me to my office," she commanded and he followed, head bowed.

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Harry was nervous to say the least. Professor McGonagall was one of the ones if not _the_ one he looked up to the most as well as the one he felt closest to. She had never betrayed him and always been a rock solid presence in his life since he began Hogwarts. She had always been looking out for her students.

Now, after his training with her, she had become more to him than just a trusted teacher. If he had to put it in words he would describe their relationship as master-disciple. She had gone the extra length and started to train him personally. He knew that it was highly unusual and she could probably get into trouble for it. Hell, he had thought she would get into trouble for it during their meeting with Dumbledore but the meeting had taken a completely different turn midway. Something had changed in the old man and although Harry didn't know exactly what, he definitely thought it was for the better.

He was brought out of his musings when they reached McGonagall's office and as she held the door for him with a stern expression he was reminded why he felt nervous. He had _attacked_ the Headmaster, with his Pyromancy no less. McGonagall had luckily stopped him and cooled him with her own Hydromancy but the Professor was (and should be) without a doubt displeased with him, especially as Harry was still banned from using it. He couldn't help but shudder as he imagined how she would express her disappointment. She might refuse to teach him forever, Harry contemplated; ignoring the fact that she knew it would be too dangerous to leave a Pyromancer with only his level of training alone.

The Professor took a deep breath and sat down behind her desk and Harry looked down to the floor, preparing himself mentally for the berating he was sure to receive.

It never came.

Looking up Harry saw that McGonagall had begun to sort the papers on her desk, ignoring him.

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Minerva McGonagall had been hard-pressed not to let her stern mask slip as Harry trudged into her office but she had done it. She was actually a little proud of herself for it. She had slipped often recently when she prided herself of being seen as the stern and just Professor and berated herself for it. Now the look on her sullen lion made her almost laugh inside.

She had planned on having a serious talk about his Pyromancy and not only his use of it in the Headmaster's office earlier. Her plans had however become postponed as she noticed how nervous the boy was. As stern and serious as McGonagall was thought to be, even she sometimes acted upon the urge of having a little fun on another's expense. Therefore she did not pass up the opportunity as it presented itself. Hopefully it would also calm the boy's nerves a little when she was done.

As she sat down she noticed Harry staring the floor and waiting for her to speak. Instead she took out her lesson plans for the next week and began sorting them, she could feel the tension rising as the boy thought he was in more and more trouble and she fought even harder to keep her smirk down. After a few minutes Harry looked up at her confused and so she felt she had made the young lion nervous enough. Now it was time to reduce the tension.

"Mr. Potter, would you be so kind and hand me the first year essays to your right?"

Surprised, Harry looked to his right and found the essays on the process of turning a matchstick into a needle lying on a small round table. He took them and walked over to her desk to hand them over gingerly. She thanked him with a small smile and before he could turn back to the where he had stood before she conjured up a chair right behind him and pushed it against his knees, causing him to fall into it.

"Take a quill and start grading these." She said and took out some of the essays from the pile, handing them to Harry. She also handed a different parchment with several checkpoints and a number next to each checkpoint. "The checkpoints state what needs to be included and the number next to them state how many points each of the checkpoints are worth. Follow that guide when grading and you shouldn't do too badly."

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Harry, not knowing the workings of the Transfiguration Professor's mind but knowing better than to argue, started to grade the first essay. He was mildly surprised to see that the first essay was written by his little sister, Astoria. Going over it and checking the guide he saw that she had a pretty good understanding of the process, probably better than he had in his first year at the time. She did miss some of the points however, but she tried and was really close so Harry gave her those points anyway. Pleased and a little proud that his little sister had managed to get full points on her essay he proceeded to the next one, written by Romilda Vane. Harry thought he recognized the name to be from Gryffindor but he promised himself to not be biased and so even though she had a pretty good understanding of the process he could not give her full points on the essay since she missed a few of the checkpoints even though she was close sometimes.

Seeing that Harry had calmed down Professor McGonagall decided to begin her slightly delayed meeting with Harry.

"Mr. Potter, Harry. I have heard from Professor Lupin that you have thought a lot about your Pyromancy." Harry, a little startled, nodded. He had not expected her to take this approach. "Well," she said expectantly, "Tell me what you think."

Harry pause and took a moment to sum up the points of Romilda Vane's essay as well as to collect his thoughts through the help of an exercise he had learned in one of his Occlumency lessons with Lupin. Finally he breathed out and began with a calm voice explain his thoughts on his Pyromancy.

"Professor, as you might have noticed I was a bit lost and confused right after the… incident." He gulped a little and she nodded to show the she understood that he referred to when she had yelled at him. "Directly after I stayed and meditated. I tried to think about what I did that was so wrong and why but I couldn't come up with anything. After several days I talked a little with Professor Lupin, however, and he gave me some really helpful advice."

The Professor raised an eyebrow at him before scribbling something on the essay she was correcting. "Oh? And what was this advice?"

His check reddened slightly, embarrassed that he had needed help when he should have come up with this on his own. "He said that I need to do more than just think about using my power. I need to understand it completely, how, when, where and why I should use it."

The Professor nodded in agreement. "That is indeed some good advice. And?" She asked and tapped her fingers expectantly for him to continue.

"Since, I have put away some time almost every day for meditating and attempting to find the answers to those questions, after my Occlumency practice." She nodded with a small smile, urging him to continue. "When I meditate with this in mind it's pretty weird. It's like I am examining my magical core and memories where I have used my Pyromancy. I can't really explain it but I can see how my magic turns into fire and how I can mediate it through my body as well as outside of it. I can see the dangers of what can happen depending on how I apply my magic to it. It's on a far deeper level than just doing it. I think that sort of answers the how?" The Professor hummed in agreement. She had left the essay she was grading on the table and her full attention was on Harry. Harry, on the other hand, didn't notice as he ticked off a point on the essay he was currently grading, this one by another Ravenclaw student. After a short while Harry noticed that this person had actually scored all the points one could but McGonagall would probably think it weird if he gave two out of the first three essays he graded full marks so he deducted some just out of good will. "Well, as to when, where I should use it, I am not sure. It is a useful ability and I would be a fool not to use it but I would also be a fool to rely on it too heavily. Actually all I have come up with so far is that when and where I use it I need to be in complete control of it fully aware of my surroundings. I do not want to hurt anyone I don't intend to." Harry paused for a moment and then, a little ashamed, added, "Not like what happened at the Professor Dumbledore's office today. That was not right."

Professor McGonagall actually smiled at him at that. "I am pleased that you recognize it as such. We'll bring it up again after you have also told me the reason why you should use it."

Harry nodded solemnly; he had expected her to bring it up from the beginning. "Why I should use it? Well, I don't know Professor. When I deem it necessary?" He asked uncertainly. "I would like to say that I would use it for good, to protect from evil but that would be naïve. All I know is that I have this power at my disposal and it is mine to use. I do not think that I, nor anyone else for that matter, will be able to predict all the situations I will be in. There is a time for everything and I will adjust my reason to fit the situation. I cannot promise that I will use it only for the Light. The world is not white and black and it is seldom easy to say what is what. You will simply have to trust me that I will be able to use it responsibly." He said the last with a shrug and looked up to see the Professor eyeing him with her green ocean-like eyes.

"It seems that you have put quite a lot of thought into this Mr. Potter." She stated slowly, tasting every word. "We will resume your training again," the corner of her mouth twitched slightly as she saw the excitement on his face, "after Christmas break." Her mouth twitched even more as his face fell. "You have clearly contemplated on the incident as well as reached a deeper understanding of your ability. I believe you are beginning to mature quite a bit." Harry sighed, it was still a lot better than he had suspected. "Next is your punishment for attacking the Headmaster. Although I know all the circumstances and you feel regret over it, I cannot let this go unpunished. One hundred points will be taken from Gryffindor and you will spend a week in detention, helping me grading essays."

Harry nodded. "Yes, Professor."

"Good. You are dismissed. Go to your dorm."

With, that Harry left the Professor's office unceremoniously. He was far from happy about the point deduction, his fellow Gryffindors would not be very happy with him either, but the detention could have been worse. He had actually found it not too bad while grading the first year essays, almost enjoyed it. Mayhap he should consider becoming a teacher once he graduates from Hogwarts, he mused, he knew he'd be a fair one. As he walked to the Gryffindor tower he thought he heard a ringing laughter from behind him but when he stopped to listen he heard nothing.

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McGonagall peered at the three essays Harry Potter had graded. As she glanced over them she saw that he had given Astoria Greengrass full marks. Her interest piqued she looked through it, her amusement growing by the second. Next she saw another Ravenclaw essay by a Lucerna Arida, a student who usually aced all her schoolwork but she had apparently missed several points on this essay. Curious, the professor looked through it as well and after a few seconds she compared it to the Greengrass one. Seeing what Harry had done she let out a ringing laughter before she clamped a hand over her mouth. She knew how well sound carried through the halls and she hoped harry had gotten far enough away to not hear her.

She thought about Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, her young lion and even her disciple and chuckled slightly to herself. _Let's hope he doesn't want to become a teacher. He would be terrible, far too biased._

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> There you go! I hope it was a good chapter despite the long wait.

You should probably expect the next few chapters to take about as long if not longer but after the 18th of May I will probably be able to dish out a lot of chapters after that. (That is the day I write the last of my tests)

Please review and have a great day!

P.S. If you'd like, please check out the beginning of my new story, "The Hardships of Family". I got a sudden pang of inspiration and wrote in the space of 2 hours.


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